Luck

You walked into the house and shook your umbrella

Raindrops rolled off the vinyl, onto the floor

You left it open to dry, somehow in all of your years alive

You never learned it’s bad luck to open an umbrella indoors

Luck is a gift, luck is a curse

Luck is a win, a death, someone stealing your purse

I wake in the morning and I wonder what it’ll be

A twenty on the sidewalk, or a falling tree

That open umbrella disrupted my routine

My anxiety’s rising as I run through what it could mean

I avoid the cracks on my way to work

Walking a zig-zag to ward off the worst

Who has died and who has divorced?

Has it been three yet, or are we at four?

Why do I believe luck counts in threes?

Are these superstitions harmful?

Do they bring us any relief?

There’s a 3 hour wait in the hospital lobby

45 minutes more till the doctor is free

They send a poker-faced nurse in to deliver the news

I recite a little spell, trying to disperse doom

Luck is a gift, luck is a curse

Luck brings us sickness or leaves us unhurt

I wake in the morning and I wonder what it’ll be

Love, disaster, or cancer free

Luck is a gift, luck is a curse

Luck is a win, a death, someone stealing your purse

I wake in the morning and I wonder what it’ll be, what it'll be

A penny on the sidewalk, or a falling tree