Scratchcard

A single gold coin for thousands

Sounds like a good deal

But that’s the point of gambling

Empty promises

But with that one hope of profit from investment

Choose a number from the plastic display case

Lucky Sevens, Hundred Thousand Gold, Monopoly, Hangman, Bingo

They all play the same

The woman behind the counter smiles

At me

As we both know I am a fool

Scratch the silver skin

With a twenty pence piece

Itch

By

Itch

A group of three is all I need to satisfy my greed

Scratch

Two pound

Scratch

Two pound

Scratch

Five Thousand

A small rush from heart and stomach

Scratch

A Tenner

Scratch

A Fiver

Scratch

Five Thousand

The foil sticks and joins and grabs

To my fingers

Gently I blow it away

This could be it

My winning ticket

Scratch

A Fiver

Scratch

A Pound

A slight hesitation comes

Scratch

Two pound

I smile

Though more at myself than at these winnings

I go back to the shop

To claim it

And buy another.