Pockets

Put on a coat I hadn't worn in a while.

In one pocket was a business card

for a film archive whose director died.

The last time I saw him,

I thought he was someone else,

so I missed the chance

for one last conversation.

A second card,

was in the pocket too,

the lead oncologist at Kaiser.

He seemed to be a kind man.

We only met him once,

The followup appointment

never happened,

it was too late.

Wrapped around his card,

a couple of lotto slips

without a single matching number,

but they never do,

my fortune was in the other pocket,

a ticket to a basketball game

where everything changed,

and a future opened

beyond the pain,

where all the numbers

now seem to align,

it's all cherries and sevens

spinning up on the payline,

and the bells are chiming

jackpot jackpot jackpot.