Deck of Love
A peculiar fate has befallen my deck of cards.
The Queen of Hearts has retired.
All the gambles, all her fates
Took her crown, took her hearts.
The Queen retreated
Making my deck defeated
The Queen of Hearts was generous —
Nuanced, innocent, and full.
Never a day with her was dull
She gave her first heart to the Jack of Clubs:
Athletic, and a little vapid.
Externally charming, internally hollow.
But she still thought she got him.
He sprung her heart around with his racquet,
A little sweet, a little tacky
He stepped over the Queen,
Thinking he would trump her.
But a Jack is but a member of her court —
Not a man she could realistically court.
And so, she bid farewell to that heart
And reshuffled her deck, still looking for a spark.
She gave her second heart to the King of Diamonds.
A close likeness to herself,
And an affinity for all the finer things
Made it a paper-perfect match.
The King had a penchant for lowly associations,
And for giving his diamonds away.
The Queen realized her red King was, in fact, inverted
His mind and diamonds alike perverted
An inverted king is powerless and faint
He was not fit for a queen so noble
So she washed her hands of that tainted heart
And ran to reshuffle yet another spec.
Her third heart went to the Ten of Diamonds.
He was stable and sweet - standard and meek
A Tenner wasn’t much her type,
But the steady stead made her look twice
The eager workhorse Tenner was dependable
The Queen liked his companionship,
But soon grew weary of his tasteless tendencies.
The heart needed ignition —
The Ten of Diamonds could be her hearth
But never spark a flame
So the Queen bid another farewell,
Though this time she stayed a friend
By now, the Queen had grown weary.
She closed her deck for a while,
Holding off her shuffle for an auspicious occasion.
And it came to her with the Ten of Hearts.
Almost there.
Almost hers.
But not quite.
The Ten of Hearts matched her every quality
Just less.
He basked in the presence of a Queen,
Until she reminded him that he was not a King.
So he conspired to steal her heart
To become one — or at least delegate her.
And so, the Queen was forced to reshuffle yet another scuffle.
A Queen doesn’t stop being one
Just because a Tenner steals her heart.
Then she pulled the best and worst
The most unexpected Joker.
A wildcard that could be a King or an Ace
He could be the gamble that wins.
The wildcard showed her the tendencies of a regal King of Hearts.
But it never remained always changing hides.
The Queen had no choice but to give him her heart.
He reminded her too much
Of everything she needed — and everything she didn’t.
He showed her the possibilities galore
But brought his fantasy home
And no matter how irresistible a Joker might be, you can’t trust a wildcard.
And so she parted with the heart that had fought the hardest not to escape.
By now the Queen of Hearts wore down
Tired of betrayal and disappointment
Weary of possibility.
And so, she decided to keep the rest for herself.
The Queen of Hearts was her final love
Pulled away from the cursed deck
That had cost her all her previous hearts.
That is the story of how the deck remained incomplete
Unable to bargain.
Unable to gamble.
So ended the tale of my beautiful deck of love
Where the Queen ultimately became the House
And the house….
