winning the lottery
by Simon Harms
Runestone, volume 9

winning the lottery

a man stops at the mom and pop
hardware store for a cup of coffee
each morning on his way to work,
and greets the disinterested teenage
cashiers by the color of their shoes.
mornin’ red. have a wonderful day,
green. see ya’ beige. nice to talk, blue.
the bright yellow billboard says; bingo!
that’s the ticket! you’ve won the lottery!
and the woman-adjacent, the person of
interest, slips her dress over-shoulder.
the dealers make away in the night with
the casino-floor carpeting. they pass under
the billboard and laugh about nothing.
i think so too, one murmurs. the other pauses;
and turns in a short breath: what’d you say?