Forces My Hand Poem by Gary Diamond

I was always a terrible poker player
I couldn't get the mix right.
I could have spent time trying
But I don't like the feel of an empty wallet.

It taught me a couple of good things though;
One was never to let it dangle.
Sometimes anothers bluff, not called
Allowed you to topple a much bigger one
Much later
And with stakes greater.

Forcing reactions out of people and places
Never works for that reason.
The ones getting the most done
Were the ones seen to be
Doing or saying very little
At least from common perspective.

Strong reactions of any kind are positive in the end.
The ability to provoke such a primal malice or smile
Is where the real power of creation lies.
There's few things worse
Than killing by mild indifference.
What can you do with that?
It can't be shaped or formed or used.

My favourite songs
Dangle, for brief seconds
The possibilities of a naked lunch
Where everything clicks
Where the mind finds an oasis
And all possibilities are there
Because you let go of everything.

I don't deal in divine revelations
I state the obvious in ways you might think
Do no good at all.
And if you leave and never think of this again
Then I have succeeded.
Because somewhere in that brain of yours
I got in on the ground floor.
If you react straight away
I have failed
Because that's all I'm going to get
Out of you.