Snake Eyes

She rolls
snake eyes
every time

And I keep
betting
everything

Her smile
lands crooked
on my chest

Like a fist
wrapped in
something soft

Snake eyes, I lose again,
she takes the whole table clean,
I put it all back up
and she rolls mean

Her fingers
on the felt
move slow

Deliberate
like a woman
counting scars

She looks up
through lashes
dark as pitch

And deals me
something
I cannot fold

Snake eyes, I lose again,
she takes the whole table clean,
I put it all back up
and she rolls mean

I have lost
my shirt
my sense

My ability
to stand
and leave

She picks up
the dice
and blows

Breath warm
on her knuckles
and on mine

And I stay
for the wreckage
every time