The House of Broken Light

 


The gaslight gleamed on amber ale, a pub's warm, smoky haze,

Where laughter boomed and sorrows drowned in life's bewildering maze.

A pint in hand, a friend nearby, the world felt safe and small,

But whispers rose of fortunes won, beyond the tavern wall.

Beneath the dim-lit amber glow, he found the place where sorrows go.

A cracked old stool, a jukebox hymn, a pint to blur the edges grim.

With stories spun, the night began, a fleeting smile, a shifting shape—

In that first glass, he saw escape.


One drink, then two, the line grew thin, where joy ends and ghosts begin.

His coin would clink, the barkeep knew, this thirst had roots that deeper grew.

For in each gulp, he tried to drown a world that always let him down.

But bottles empty faster still, when poured to patch a broken will.

Then came the doors that gleamed with light, the siren song of neon night.

A casino called with velvet grin, "Come lose your past, come step right in."

And there they moved, in silken grace, the casino girls, with painted face.

Their laughter like a silver chime, enchanting every passing time.

Dice like thunder, reels that spin, cards that tempt the soul within.

The drink was free, the stakes were high, a thousand dreams in every lie.


The journey starts with hopeful stride, from innocence to greedy pace,

Each clinking chip, a promise made, a poison planted in that place.

The golden liquid, solace sought, in glasses raised too high,

Blurs out the lines, distorts the truth, beneath a painted sky.

He bet his watch, he bet his name, he bet away the man he came.

The money flowed, a roaring tide, his life's true worth, where could he hide?

Each heavy loss, a deeper blow, watched by those smiles, a silent show.

Luck was brief, then cruelly gone, but still he played from dusk till dawn.

For every loss, he chased one win, not knowing when to fold within.

The house stood tall, the house stood cold—it takes the young, it takes the old.


From youthful zest to haggard gaze, the mirrored path unfolds,

The vibrant flush of early days, to stories left untold.

The morning light, a cruel harsh truth, on pockets thin and bare,

The echoes of a wasted youth, a silent, grim despair.

No cheers now greet his stuttered breath, just silence near the edge of death.

A wallet bare, a liver scarred, a life once full, now tossed and marred.

The pub remembers—but no more, the casino closed its gleaming door.

He lies where many stories end—alone, unloved, without a friend.


For life, a gamble, so they say, a coin tossed in the air,

But wisdom whispers, come what may, beware the cunning snare.

The fleeting thrill, the burning crave, a thirst that can't be quenched,

Can drag a soul into the grave, by vices deeply drenched.

Oh world that spins on vice and thrill, beware the void that can't be filled.

For joy that's sold in shot and chip will sink your soul with every sip.

The line from cheers to ruin is thin—it starts with laughs, it ends within.

So raise a glass—but raise it wise, and never trade your truth for lies.

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