the devils game of poker

A round table is set,
Draped with tattered velvet cloth.
A shadow begins the bet,
A cup is filled with red broth.

The sweating man rejects it,
The beast just snorts and drinks.
It wipes its mouth of blood and spit,
The game begins before the man thinks.

There's no way of getting out,
The first card is already played.
He will regret this later no doubt,
The ringleader sports a large blade.

The first round ends,
Wrinkles form on the mans face.
He hopes his card is as he intends,
Relief is in the ace.

The slate is at an even score,
Hope rises within the man.
He might be able to win this war,
But someone else has a plan.

The twist in this game is,
The gamble is that of his life.
A debt to the devil is his,
Now he's shadowed by a scythe.

If he wins he walks away,
But he's trapped if in defeat.
Forever in the pit of hell he'll stay,
A master he must beat.

The game is at its peak now,
A stranger wins by one.
On the devils side he plays by vow,
His sanity undone.

The hand he now holds,
Three ace and two royal.
A creature soon folds,
Killed for being unloyal.

The devil sits flush,
Teeth bared in a wicked grin.
A faceless entity in a slender rush,
Here because of sin.

It offers a few dishes,
Bloody, dripping hearts.
Owners swimming with the fishes,
We mustn't forget, the devil is a master of the arts.

No one can be trusted,
In a room full of cheaters.
The chain of truth is rusted,
Breaking by the metres.

The slate is wiped with blood,
Every tally gone.
The man pushed back into the mud,
Mercifully lead on.

The hooded figure flips a card,
Revealing the symbol of death.
Soon the sky is barred,
He takes his last, long breath.

He walks an alley of corpses,
All moaning out in pain.
Nameless marionettes he bypasses,
He knows he isn't sane.

A deal with the devil is never fair,
Only wander, if you dare