Bluffmaster

Bluffmaster, I was called
Placing the cards, that’s all it took
An ace when it should be a king
A queen for a nine
An eight for a ten
A puny two for the regal prince.

Keep a straight face
And no one will ever know
No blink of the eye
No twitch of the brow
No stutter in your voice
With the same rhythm of the beating heart.

Truth and lies, arbitrary notions
Twist them and bend them
Till you like what you see.
Games make a man, Harry used to say
And never known him to be wrong.

Did you know him? They asked me today
Did you meet him on Sunday the week before
They asked me again
Do you have a 88mm double barrel gun?
The answer always a No
With not even a blip on the lie detector
I walk scot-free and head home.

The trip to the police ticked off
Groceries bought, laundry picked up
Next on my to-do list –
Empty the basement freezer
Clean it of any human stench
Bury Harry in the garden
And then off to play another round of Bluff.