Ode to a Gambler .... A Lover's Lament For you, my love, with open heart, I offer most sincere,    the thoughts and secrets kept within, the parts I hold most dear. We love, we laugh, we hope and dream; our joy is so sublime. The happiness I've shared with you will linger throughout time. But now we've come to differences, and reckoning's at hand;    to face the truth, articulate, and hope you understand. Another love has shown itself to rival and persist. It offers you a pleasure that you simply can't resist. The URGE to bet, to lose or win - pervasive, is it not? I say if you are so inclined, then give it all you've got. Gaming is your everything; it makes your life worthwhile. The monkey is firmly on your back regardless of denial. So let me step aside and say with quiet acquiescence,    you need no longer be concerned about gambling in my presence. Your focus and your energy, your lusting and affections,    should lavish, grow and consummate, but not in both directions. My admiration and respect, you seldom hear me claiming;    they're lost beneath your greater love, the BEAST we know as gaming. The flame will surely rise again, compelling us to meet;    converging in the throes of love, rue-esque and bittersweet. Though intermittent interludes your monkey will permit,    with unsequestered servitude you must return to it. Although we share a bond so rare, contentment so replete,    a recompense of tears and pain awaits us when we meet. I long to see the curse removed, your sad affliction cease. For only then can love convey its depth with full release. A mite, a trifle, yours to taste; but heretofore a ration. Yet, undeterred we'll both be free to search the depths of passion. So prudence, pride and principles reconnoiter and behoove me. But deep inside my heart is fast; may nothing ever move me. Trusting, empathetic friends are such elusive treasures. The day the beast is overcome, you'll know life's truer pleasures ... to MF from D