Sheila Charles TEMPTATION
I have a friend whom I rarely see.
We were neighbours ages ago.
Then I moved and she moved and now
We live miles away. I know!
But every April, when it’S my birthday,
She sends me a scratchy card – sometimes two.
I excited;y scratched it or them,
You know, the way you do?
So, I decided to send her one too
When her birthday came.
If it was ‘the big one’ we’d share it.
That was the name of the game.
Well, last year, when I purchased one
The lady at the counter said,
“The ten dollar ones usually deliver.”
So I bought a ten dollar one instead.
Then I felt tempted to scratch it myself
So, scratch it myself, I did.
I actually won sixty dollars –
The equivalent of thirty quid.
So I returned to the counter
And bought two $3 ones. Yes.
And sent them in her birthday card.
(I didn’t feel the need to confess
That I’d bought and scratched a $10 one.
I just wished her every success!)
But I’ve had a recurring guilty conscience
About that decision I mad,
So this year I’ve bought her a $10 ticket.
The girl passed it over. I paid.
I put it into my handbag immediately
Because I have to say,
I was sorely tempted to scratch that one too.
So I posted it straight away.
I hope, if she wins, she won’t tell me
Unless it’S the big one and we share it – Okay!
illustration by ume-nori
