Life’s a Crap Shoot

I was nine

the first time

I realized

that life is

a crap shoot

Maybe younger

to be honest

when I watched

playground bullies

tormenting another kid

I couldn’t sleep

that night

The dark was scary

But I also feared the light

Because I knew

even though

I was only a child

that I, too,

could be on

the receiving end

of a bad hand

a dirty deal

pointless pain

or just being

in the wrong place

at the right time

No matter if I

beg or cry

Except for sheer luck,

there go I …

and you, too.

— Teresa Roberts 2024

Written while listening to the BBC report on the mass killings in Sidney Australia shopping center.