Tumbling Dice

She took me to the green felt

That’s where

She liked to do it

On the green felt

By the red horse

And the three little cherries

With the cream on top

I had two women in Vegas

Two in San Diego

And other than that

I behaved

Some guys got one

In every other city

That wasn’t for me

I just had what I needed

But I probably needed

More than most

You can’t help who you are

That’s what my father used to tell me

That we all only have the capacity

To be as good

As our darkest desires

Lucky for me

All my desires

Have Founding Fathers on them

Every woman I met

Tried to get me

To love them

More than I love

Winning money

And no matter how loudly I told them

That they were always going to come second

They died trying to be first

People love telling you

That they don’t need

Anything from you

Because we all know

What scares folks away

It’s needing them

Or something from them

So all anybody tells you

When you first meet them

Is how much they don’t need you

Or anybody else

Then they take a step in

And suddenly

They’re asking for your time

Your patience

Your consideration

And all the while

It’s not about needing anything

It’s just what they’d like

What gets mentioned casually

No pressure

Nothing to worry about

Then there’s me over here

Rolling dice

Placing bets

Nodding along

Because why get anybody upset

When all you have to do

Is train them to expect

The very least of you

Once that happens

They either move on

Or settle in

And a lot of them moved on

But a few settled

And I only needed a few

This one woman

Really wanted to be

The lone ranger

And I gotta tell you

I thought about it

Because she was something

Special

She told me
I was this big risk-taker

With everything

Except what mattered

The most

It’s not that I didn’t believe her

It’s just that I couldn’t take all my chips

And put ‘em on her number

Never was the kind of gambler

To let it ride

I did things the practical way

And the guys alongside me

Would mock me for it

Just like how they mocked me

When I wouldn’t put a ring

On this lady’s ring finger

But you gotta know yourself

Better than anybody else knows you

And I knew that once it was just her and me

There’d be nothing there

But long silences and sunsets

And the only light I’m comfortable with

Comes from the sign outside the casino

The glow of the strip

And the never-ending noise

Of people finding out

They’re not as lucky

As they’d like to be

I never said it was a happy life

But it’s one that keeps you guessing

Right up til it’s over

That was good enough for me

I never needed

Much more

Than that