B-I-N-G-O <br />used to be the name <br />of someones’s dog <br />in a grade school song <br /> <br />now it is a legalized form <br />of big time gambling <br />for an old woman <br />straddling a crutch <br />with a withered arm <br />as she enter the Bingo parlor <br /> <br />she is sitting in the front row now <br />to make sure she doesn’t miss <br />any of the numbers called <br /> <br />next to her <br />a sweating bearded man <br />who rings a tiny Christmas bell <br />every time I-22 is called <br /> <br />I guess he won $1,000 <br />once <br />on that lucky number I-22 <br />and he needs the good luck <br />especially today <br />because it is crowded <br />the first week of the month <br />always is <br />‘cause of the holy trinity of government checks <br />pensions <br />welfare <br />social security <br /> <br />it seems like everyone <br />is smoking cigarettes <br />or coughing <br /> <br />coarse fingers crossed <br />around strands of hair <br />being twisted <br />dark eyes looking at the <br />glow of the bingo screen <br />and back on their cards <br />without blinking <br /> <br />like a Four Star General <br />going over his strategy <br />on a war map <br /> <br />you can hear the tension <br />stomachs growl <br />fingernails scratch the bingo cards <br />in anticipation <br /> <br />finally the bingo lady <br />yells <br />“B-4…….B-4’ <br />and someone in the back <br />who was not really paying attention <br />and who has never been here before <br />screams B-I-N-G-O <br /> <br />and the rest of the crowd murmurs <br />and start to scrape <br />the blue chips <br />back into <br />their little casket shape box <br /> <br />hoping they will fall <br />in the right place <br /> <br />…next time <br />…next time <br />…next time<br /><br />Oscar Mireles<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/b-i-n-g-o-is-not-a-four-letter-word/
