William Hill by Matthew J Hall

I slid my winning slip
under the security partition

the cashier stared
his face like a rough brick
his eyes alive with contempt alone

and we stood there like that
breathing the stale air
body odour
piss
defeat

I stuffed the cash
into my inside pocket
nodded and ducked out
there were no winners

Matthew J Hall is a UK writer based in Bristol. His poetry chapbook, Pigeons and Peace Doves is available through Blood Pudding Press. He reviews small press books at http://www.screamingwithbrevity.com