Bets Laid for the Mocking Crowd

The devastating drink upon which
 man lays his bet; the dusk-time red in his glass -
the glittering tonic
 soothed in gin -
the warming sips through the heart and lungs when
 the wheel of his roulette lays him
bare for the evening, etherized by dawn
by whiskey -
the Devil's breath its aroma;
its taste the juice of poison berries.
He returns to the drab, damp brick
in amber lights,
lays his ante, shakes dice.

 A goblet of beer then for now. It's early yet.
The cards have only just been shuffled.
A shot to the evening star,
the sun's worried tear, afraid to leave man alone at night,
 knowing better than he his folly. A shot, then,
to the sun's tear, slowly dripping behind horizon;
   and the antagonizing stars arriving
   to watch and rant, laugh and jeer, wink sinister - the demons -
 saying, "We are here still. Why should you slow your drink?"
and, Oh! how man falls.
At dawn, the man
 bowing bankrupt and tragic;
the last stars scornfully and laughing go away.
 The sun nervously opens her eye upon this man, her face
wet with the dew of tears
she sweated through her nightmare sleep.
 She prays over the fool while he sleeps
under her watchful, mourning gaze. Then,

Dusk, the ante, cards shuffled.
 The roulette wheel lands on bleak.
A bet, a tear,
and a billion winking sneers.

Treats

Amanda and I headed out this morning to Central Market. She needed fruit. I wanted to give her company. It started when I saw the figs. I shifted several around to find the right four, put 'em in my sack, weighed 'em, put the price on, and continued shopping. Then I saw the bins full of nuts and such. "Amanda, wait a sec. I gotta get ... " I walked, searching, "some, raww... aha! Cashews!" I grabbed a bag and filled with 1.05 pounds of the delectable nuts, printed the price tag and went on my way. Amanda and I meandered around and I saw it. "Nero d'Avola?! How strange they're advertising this here. Not very popular, you know?" "You wanna see their wines? They have a lot." "Sure." So Amanda led me to the wine section and I gazed through the Italian vintners. I ended with the first bottle I saw, excited to find what, a year ago, seemed so rare. We continued. "Are you ready?" "For what?" We went around the corner. "The cheese." It wrapped endlessly with refrigerators loaded with world cheeses. Some in the middle. Most cooled along the walls. "Oh my God!" I went through searching for something to take home and found the hearty bleu cheeses and chose one. Having finished shopping, we headed to the front to check out, and on the way, there it was, in it's bitter-sweet glory - Green Leaf, 85% Dark Chocolate. Without thinking, I snatched a bar and took it up front with the rest. We checked out, went home, and this is a picture of my unintended THEMED shopping spree. They oughta sell this plate at restaurants!