Brian Palmu

The Sport of Kings
 
They shuffle through the front gates
from ancient fetid coffins
with roll’ems, tout sheets, old hates
a modest win won’t soften.

Wobbling on the asphalt grade,
invading grandstand or bench,
they fret during post parade
of a stiff job on their cinch.

Caught in a blind switch, or boxed,
jockey inept and half-baked,
they rail on a fix, outfoxed
by betters, outrageous rake.

Approaching race eight alive,
all-in on the exotic,
a blind stab key on the five,
underlaid, lame, robotic.

Coffee, dark bar, quick whiskey,
a squint at the monitor,
the geldings merge, once frisky,
now fading, lurching, obscured.

Brian Palmu is a poet and critic currently living in Victoria, B.C., Canada. His previous chapbooks are Sunset Mathematics (Frog Hollow Press, 2017) and Parade (Anstruther Press, 2024). He’s a retired professional gambler and blue/grey collar worker.