Leroy's
Bones
Thomas Jefferson Leroy Washington Jones
had a pair of antique African bones
that his great grand daddy years ago
bought from slave in a medicine show.
Leroy had a knack for tossing the dice,
make a wise man stutter, and gambler look twice.
He could go on a run lasting for hours
as if the dice were part of his powers.
Leroy had half the county in hock.
Three men went crazy—two were in shock.
When he rolled out those bones in an easy sweep
ladies would faint, grown men would weep.
Men would call odds doubling their stakes
when Leroy gave them one of his shakes.
With both hands together, he rubbed off the ice,
warming up the magic of those ivory dice.
One night down at the Blood 'n' Guts Pub
Leroy was giving his bones a rub.
A small crowd gathered, said Leroy
"Perhaps, some of the brothers would care for some craps!"
Silver Fox Smith and Asphalt Andy
stood over Leroy with their blackjacks handy.
If anyone cheated to make his point
those two dudes would tear up the joint.
Smoke rose blue against the night.
Fat-Frank crapped out. Slim-Jim went light.
Willie-the-Weasel asked Tall Tim for a note
while Mellow Milo unzipped his coat.
The turn passed to Leroy. He thumbed it down.
"I'm not using bones making that sound!
Those dice are loaded with two
grains of lead.
Silver Fox go see that man
dead."
Silver Fox looked at
Mellow
Silver Fox threw
face down on the asphalt for breaking the code.
"Whose dice do we use now?" asked they crew.
Leroy reached in his pocket and did not say boo.
He raised up his hand and there in his palm
was a sight that would make an angry man calm.
"Hey brother that's some fine set of bone;
white
ivory, black onyx with an African hone.
But do they fall true to the rate
of demand
when
they roll off the fingers of a gambler's hand?"
Said Leroy, with an ear-to-ear smile,
"They fall as true as the strength of your style."
So the bones went tumbling across the floor,
bouncing off the back of the men’s room door.
The clock
over the bar read
Everyone
except Leroy was losing the war.
Smoke, sweat, booze, beer,
covered the floor like a sobering tear.
The game
ended quick without fist or gun.
Leroy packed his pockets with what he had won.
He said fare-thee-well to his bankrolling friends.
"Tut-tut
my boys, too bad that it ends.
The full moon shone down like a silver dollar.
Leroy jingled as he walked, turning up his collar.
Old brick building rose up like a canyon of glum.
A rat hurried by towards its home in the slum.
As Leroy walked the taps on his shoes
sang out a melody bathed in the blues.
He reached in his pocket, fondled a buck.
He threw it in the gutter for the lady called Luck.
©2000 Dan Kantak