Luck of the Draw (poem) by John Herlihy on AuthorsDen

Luck of the Draw
by John Herlihy → (All Poetry by John Herlihy)
Saturday, May 23, 2026 Rated "G" by the Author.

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The Luck of the Draw by John Herlihy In life we paint pictures; We sketch things out. We draw. We tell stories that amuse— Stories that we draw out. A bottle of whiskey at the ready. From the bottle he took a long draw. Call chance the luck of the draw; Call chance the curse of the draw. Standing before me, hand on his gun, He shouted without blinking: draw! No changing the life now behind him; He thought his life was just in his draw. Certain things fascinated him; They always tended to draw him in. He was willing to face things; He wasn’t inclined to draw away. Soon I’ll draw up to the pearly gates, When the time comes to draw down. Like I said, we tell stories of what we saw. Clear pictures emerge from what we draw. One deep breath that he quietly drew in, In this unfolding drama being drawn out. The shutters of day will soon draw down; Our lives erased, over them new lives drawn. — — — Copyright © John Herlihy Thursday, 21 May 2026

Reviewed by Jms Bell

Reviewed on July 10, 2026

I ENJOYED THIS, JOHN. WONDERFUL INSTANCES IN WHICH WE USE THE WORD...DRAW, IN TIRELY DIFFERENT WAYS. THIS WORD IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF WHY IT IS SAID THAT ...ENGLISH...IS ONE OF MOST DIFFICULT LANGUAGES TO LEARN. THANKS FOR SHARING. LOVE, BLESSINGS AND FAITH...HIS+INSPIRATIONS.

Reviewed by Ronald Hull

Reviewed on May 23, 2026

I took a long draw (drink) of your use of the word draw in this clever poem of serendipity and satisfied my thirst for a great poetry.

I especially like the line where you gave the traditional manly challenge of the old West, revised from the European duel. And used often in western classics like Shane and High Noon�the Spaghetti Westerns.

I doubt that it ever occurred that way. It was either the traditional European challenge or, usually a surprise where one person got the drop on the other. But in those days it took more than one bullet to kill most often.

Ron

Reviewed by Rebecca McKeehan

I like the way you intertwined the use of "draw" between an old west motif and that of an artist creating a picture. I imagine the artist ss having been the old west character who survived a duel to go on and interpret his long life through an inate creativity.

Rebecca

Reviewed by Odin odin@aflx.com

Fascinating play on the word "draw." Your poem suggests the reader consider seriously that "draw" as an ending of one type of existence as the realm of continued existence may or may not take the same form. One is left with the thought that "draw" is actually an invitation to creation's next celebratory birth. Well done. Simple, yet provocative.