Monday, 1 February 2021

Three Poems + One Flash Fiction Piece by Angel Edwards

 




Maybe Angel Wings

 

maybe angels don't

   really have wings

            perhaps it's our vision

                      at sea

we cannot quite see

circular trail of light

.                 enfolding

            surrounding them

       light emanating

creatures of light

    capable of

                  instant flight

maybe angel wings                            

                 appear

                 disappear

                as needed

maybe they   fold up tightly

                maybe they

                have the ability

               to grow long

                        and long

                           and long

      or become tiny

               or to multiply

              into many wings

        you cannot

                 look an angel

                   in the face

the power of the light          

             would destroy

              the human being

I think they live

                    in the skies     

🤔.          and dress up

as clouds

               visible then

                 to our eyes

              

 

   ALL OF THEM SPIRITS

 

        watery Bay rum

             iced wine

        ice cubes floating

           vodka tonic

            straight up

            on the rocks

          martini olives

          strawberry cordial

         elder berry exploding

           peppermint schnapps

          white wine carafe

             red wine bottle

            white grape sherry

            elder berry

                  scotch

            drambuie in a barrel

               gin gimlet

               manhattan

              spicy caesar

            tequila sunrise sunset                     

           cognac

                armagnac

            over proof moonshine                    

           brandied hot toddy

                vermouth

             in truth

        all of them spirits

 

 

Bourbon

 

Baltic amber earrings

velvet gold turban

crimson fingertips clutch

a decanter of bourbon

 

aquamarine eye shadow

blue broach from past birthdays

cherry smeared lip gloss

on cigarettes in ashtrays

 

flat gold floppy slippers

silken day night wear

filled plates for no guests

an empty golden chair

 

baltic amber earrings

velvet gold turban

crimson fingertips clutch

a decanter of bourbon

 


Gertie's Highs and Lows

Her finger has grown numb from pushing the button on the slot machine. She always hit the maximum button. When she loses she will say that it was a mistake or that her elbow hit the max button, A ratio of win to loss was in the black at the moment.

Gertie used the slot machine as an extra income. It  brought in an easy $500 a week so Gertie quit her part-time job in the restaurant and became a full-time gambler. She also became a part-time mother, a part-time wife and a full-time liar and cheat.

Her rationalization was that when she made it big she would stop but then came the terrible worry of  'how would she explain all the money to her family.'

Gertie lost about 8 pounds in six months in the time she had been gambling and all of  her friends were sure that Gertie was working out at the gym.

Once in the casino Gertie had no interest in food or in anything other than playing her three favourite slot machines.

Now inevitably one October evening Gertie hit a streak of bad luck. She had spent $650 and had won absolutely nothing.

Gertie hit the machine the ATM conveniently located in the casino got out another $500 which she also lost.She was then forced to use her credit card, took out another $500 and she lost that too. After one brief win or she was $100 to the better, she gambled  it all and now she was empty-handed !

The realization hit her that she was also really hungry. She doesn't have cab fare home . It's pouring rain and she doesn't even have an umbrella.

Gertie felt like crying but what would be the point.

A young woman in the casino uniform came by offering free snacks and a free coffee which Gertie gratefully accepted ignoring the dirty look she received for not leaving a tip.

Gertie sat in the corner listlessly watching the other players and hoping that the rain would abate a little  so that she could walk home before it became dark.

Well the rain let up slightly and she decided that she should  just better go home.

She was almost at the door when she heard a voice behind her " excuse me ma'am did you drop this..."

A well dressed handsome young man with piercing dark eyes held out a slot machine voucher. He looked oddly familar.

Gertie  reached out and took it not really sure why she did. She looked at it gasping.  It was a voucher for $272.08.

When she looked up there was no young man. Now Gertie thought of nothing except that she should gamble. .

"This time," she thought "I'm going to use a slot machine I've never tried before". She walked to the other end of the building and sat down in front of a quarter machine "Lord of the Rings".

She inserted the voucher, hit maximum and won the bonus round. She won 7 bonus rounds in a row and then the jackpot!

Her winnings were now $9799.

Bills and whistles were going off as attendants rushed to her side.

 In a daze Gertie handed over her ID and said that she would like her winnings in cash please.

"Are you sure Madame ?  That's quite a bit of money..."

"Yes in large bills please..."

"Please come with us"

They escorted Gertie to a small office where she signed a piece of paper, checked her ID again and counted out $9799 in 97 hundred dollar bills,one $50 bill ,two $20 bills,one $10 bill,one $5 dollar bill and a couple of twonies.

Gertie asked if they would call her a cab and one came within 10 minutes waiting for her just outside the casino door.

She got into the back seat of the black car and shut the door.

"Where to Miss?" asked the driver turning around to face her.

Gertie gasped in shock.

The driver was the same man who had given her the money voucher.

"Aren't you forgetting something ?" he sneered.

"You owe me a lot of money!"

"Oh "said Gertie "Okay."

Gertie opened her purse and counted out $300.

The man grabbed it from her and laughed

 in a nasty kind of way.

"You can keep the 300 I want the near $10,000 that you just won".

"But I won it at the Lord of the Rings machine".

"You took something that didn't belong to you. That voucher didn't belong to you"

"But you gave it to me" said Gertie.

"Get out of my car" said the man.

Gertie did so. She was very frightened and she then saw that she actually was not in a cab after all but a sleek black car.

She was feeling disoriented and had a headache from hunger . She was shivering in the rain and very puzzled.

"Look I'll tell you what my dear- you keep the money."

He turned  full face to her.

"If i ever see you around this casino again you will be very sorry that's all I can tell you."

Gertie turned to walk back inside the casino.And just then a yellow and black cab pulled up. She got inside and had a  safe uneventful ride back home. She would  never understand fully what had happened. Perhaps the man was an angel. Perhaps he was a spirit.

Her great uncle had been a notorious gambler back in his day. Maybe it was his ghost!

Perhaps that was why he seemed so familiar. He reminded her of a picture she had seen of her great uncle who was the black sheep of the family but he was spoken of in a most affectionate way.

Anyway for better or worse there were no more wins or losses for Gertie at the casino because she never ever gambled at any casino again 

      

Angel Edwards

January 20 2020

 



Angel Edwards is a singer songwriter guitarist published writer published poet with 4 books from Vancouver BC Canada

member of AFM local 145

BMI SOCAN

 


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