The Punter's Lucky Day Poem by Francis Duggan

The afternoon was quite windy and chilly and the wintery sky
looked full of rain and gray
But the big smile on the punter's face was broadening he said I've never known a better day
A huge collect on the quadrella jackpot, today one of the World's luckiest men
For a dollar bet he collected sixty thousand I too would smile if I had such a win.

It did not bother him the weather damp and chilly or if rain clouds were gathering in the sky
In twenty years of gambling on racehorses his biggest ever win he would enjoy
He strode up to the counter and called the barmaid a drink of their choice for everybody here
And everybody seems to love a winner they toasted him and gave a lusty cheer.

And though he has had twenty years of losing today at least he could afford to smile
And though gambling on horses had made him poorer his long wait for his big win seemed worthwhile
So many horses he had bet on beaten in photos but he hung in there though the going was tough
And though for every narrow loser there's an excuse a neck or nose is never good enough.

His ex wife and his teenage daughter they will tell you that he is one who did not seem to care
If often they had to go to bed hungry or if their fridge of food was often bare
Since she left him after nine years of marriage she has not spent one moment in regret
She and her daughter better off without him and their life with him they now wish to forget.

The dark rain clouds in the wintery sky were gathering and heavy rain did not seem far away
Yet his mood did not seem to match the weather he wore a broad smile on his finest day
A sixty thousand collect in the quaddy his big win around the Country made the news
But for every lucky one who scoops the jackpot the sad thing is so many have to lose.