he's a gambling man

my dad
loves the lottery. buying
the cards
in the big machines in front of
the grocery store.
he pops in twenty dollar
bills
like nothing.
he's won some, lost
most.
his eyes are so bad though,
that he has to trust
someone else to read the numbers.
he did hit it big once,
for a hundred and fifty thousand,
which he tried
to hide.
i saw his picture though
online,
holding up the big check,
unsmiling, a worried look
on his face, wondering
if all nine of his children
would find out
over time.
i asked him what he would
do with all the dough,
a trip, a cruise
maybe a new Cadillac, he said
no.
he was going to get the squeak
fixed in his twenty
year old washing machine,
the rest of the money
went back
to from where it came.
into the machines in front
of the store.
pffff, there goes the inheritance.