Villanelle Of Cards

You cannot quite tell tell how the cards will fall,

or whether the the queen is high or ace is low,

but as they say, the winner takes it all.

The house collapsed under the wrecking ball

and I was free from the weight of the status quo.

You cannot quite tell how the cards will fall.

I remember you in that crimson Spanish shawl,

a fleeting ache of heart, a fire below,

but as they say, the winner takes it all.

Sometimes you find you have no trumps at all,

no fire to protect you from the blinding snow.

You cannot quite tell how the cards will fall.

I saw you limned in smoke against the wall,

you fell into my arms; it is not so;

that  as they claim, the winner takes it all.

Come, kings and knaves! to another tavern brawl.

Come! Break the rules, give life another go,

you cannot quite tell tell how the cards will fall,

or if it’s true that the winner takes it all.