One Last Bet
Paul Burgess

Instead of sending clients urgent mail,

I’m analyzing records, sires, and odds

and noting pace and distance from the rail

while feeling favored by the racing gods.

I’ll wager what she loaned to cover rent,

and after cashing out the bets I laid,

I’ll pay her every dollar ever lent

and buy her dinner with the money made.

Today, I’ll win at least a couple grand

and have a ladder taller than this hole.

Before, the horses dealt a dirty hand,

but now my gut is saying “pole to pole”.

This time, I really mean it when I say,

“I swear I’ll win this race and walk away.”

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Previously published in Pulsebeat Poetry Journal (2025)

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Paul’s notes: “‘Pace’, post position (‘distance from the rail’), and ‘sires’ are all factors considered when betting on thoroughbred horse racing. A pole-to-pole winner leads a race from start to finish.

“The speaker of the poem has not yet had his awakening, but writing this poem required a personal awakening from an intense phase of addiction, delusion, and self-destructive behavior. Like many poets, I often insist on the difference between the speaker and the poet, but the two are painfully close in this piece.”

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Paul Burgess is the sole proprietor of a business in Lexington, Kentucky that offers ESL classes in addition to English, Japanese, and Spanish-language translation and interpretation services. He has recently contributed work to Blue Unicorn, The Road Not Taken, Light, Apricity, Star*Line, The Orchards, Snakeskin, Pulsebeat, and several other publications. Paul’s blog is here and readers are welcome to contact him via this link.

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One Last Bet Paul Burgess

One Last Bet
Paul Burgess