The Gambler

 Hi everyone. Happy Wednesday.

     May is winding down, but before it ends I have a couple more pages for Valerie's and my Poetry challenge at Art Journal Journey. Today’s page is one I started back in the winter but didn’t know where to go with it ( to finish it.). Then the other day I heard an old Kenny Roger’s song about a gambler, and I knew what I wanted to do to complete the page.

     I didn’t have any room for the song lyrics ( which could be a poem without the tune) on my page,  but I included them later in the post.

     I cut up some old deli paper that I used to work on.  I glued it down and added the cards  and man die cuts.  I also die cut the card  suits with gold paper, added some gold washi tape and die cut the gold outer  edge of the sun. I added gold glitter glue in the sun's open space and I used a chipboard moon next to it. I used stickers to make the words “ Lady Luck”, and the die cut Nefertiti statue was something that was sitting in my extras pile. 

   To finish my page I added the “good fortune” stamped quote mainly because I felt like my page needed something else, but the song lyrics/poem were just too much when I printed them out and tried finding the right spot for them.

Here's Kenny Roger's song lyrics that inspired my page.

On a warm summer's evening

On a train bound for nowhere

I met up with the gambler

We were both too tired to sleep

So we took turns a-starin'

Out the window at the darkness

The boredom overtook us

And he began to speak

He said, "Son, I've made a life

Out of readin' people's faces

Knowin' what the cards were

By the way they held their eyes

So if you don't mind my sayin'

I can see you're out of aces

For a taste of your whiskey

I'll give you some advice"

So I handed him my bottle

And he drank down my last swallow

Then he bummed a cigarette

And asked me for a light

And the night got deathly quiet

And his face lost all expression

Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy

You gotta learn to play it right

You've got to know when to hold 'em

Know when to fold 'em

Know when to walk away

And know when to run

You never count your money

When you're sittin' at the table

There'll be time enough for countin'

When the dealin's done

Every gambler knows

That the secret to survivin'

Is knowin' what to throw away

And knowin' what to keep

'Cause every hand's a winner

And every hand's a loser

And the best that you can hope for

Is to die in your sleep"

And when he'd finished speakin'

He turned back toward the window

Crushed out his cigarette

Faded off to sleep

And somewhere in the darkness

The gambler he broke even

But in his final words

I found an ace that I could keep

You've got to know when to hold 'em

Know when to fold 'em

Know when to walk away

And know when to run

You never count your money

When you're sittin' at the table

There'll be time enough for countin'

When the dealin's done

You've got to know when to hold 'em (when to hold 'em)

Know when to fold 'em (when to fold 'em)

Know when to walk away

And know when to run

You never count your money

When you're sittin' at the table

There'll be time enough for countin'

When the dealin's done

You've got to know when to hold 'em

Know when to fold 'em

Know when to walk away

And know when to run

You never count your money

When you're sittin' at the table

There'll be time enough for countin'

When the dealin's done

I’ll be back tomorrow with my last page for May. Thanks for visiting and have a great day!