We just got back from Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula wine country and Pala Casino in southern California where we were spending time with Joy’s family. Pala Casino Spa Resort is a nice place in the Temecula wine country near San Diego. Being the non-gambler in the family, I spent most of my time outside near the pool area reading, and writing.
Pala Casino Spa Resort Pool Area
Pool Bar Cafe
Ode To The Gambling House of Worship
Buttons pushed
Touching the screen
Smoke in my eyes —
I play.
Grabbing a drink
Easing the loses
The game goes on —
Lights flashing.
Smoke getting worse
Eyes watering
Load ringing noise —
I cry, others yell.
A gaming cathedral
Worshiping the machine
Matching the slots —
Lacking virtue.
Seeking intellectual guidance
To know the details
Of their religious addition —
Old or new.
A life structured around decline
Dazzling down
Totality of existence —
Seeking more stimulation.
Dare I avoid the slot?
In a race against time
Slowed by the machine —
Mysteriously slanted.
The machine’s hunger
Has a taste against the odds
Ignoring the probability —
Credits dissolve.
Indistinguishable from reality
A creature of habit
Occupying all space —
Dependence avoided.
Not sharing the obsession
I cash out
Walking away —
Posture-perfect.
Others entering
Stumped over walkers
Old and shabby —
Pitted and scarred.
This house of worship
At best, a place
For people watching —
What the hell!
I prefer to watch the sunset
From the mountain high
Dreaming of tomorrow —
Cleared for action.
With every act
A reminder of
Thought put into deed —
Orthodox acceptance.
Seeking relationships
I enter the cathedral
Not for the gaming —
“. . . we need the eggs!” *
* A reference to a Woody Allen quote in Annie Hall.
kenne
Reblogged this on Becoming is Superior to Being and commented:
First posted September 2012. Over the years I have written several poems on my dislike for casinos, but needing the relationship eggs, I enter with family. — kenne
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