5. DELIA’S DILEMMA
By Marc Nerenberg
Toby lay there bleeding, with a bullet in his side.
He looked up at the woman who once thought she would be his bride.
She had a pistol in her hand, and she was trying to decide
If she should shoot him again, and bring that game to an end, or just let it all ride.

(She said:) I used to think that I loved you. Ha! But you were just good in bed.
Then you married her, instead of me. “Just for her money” you said.
Well, if I don’t kill you this time, I expect you’ll soon wind up dead.
When them card sharks catch you cheating, they’ll just shoot you through the head!


Delia was a gambling grifter, and she drifted from town to town.
Whenever she met with a deck of cards, she would lay her money down.
Now, she didn’t win all the time, but she could keep up with the best,
Until she fell under Toby’s spell, and she followed him out west.

When Toby told Delia he loved her, ah, she should have known that was a lie.
But she wanted so badly to believe it that she never even questioned why.
Oh, as soon as he saw her playing cards, Toby knew that Delia was a find.
She could let him know, when by his side, whether he should fold - or let it ride. All he loved was her razor sharp mind.

Together they drifted to Frisco, at first just as friends, but soon more.
When they got to the coast, Toby would boast that Delia was his paramour.
They went straight to the gambling tables, by the sawdust covered dance floor.
They shared more than a bed: they were partners, instead of just Toby and some nameless whore.

There were gold nuggets right on those tables, and gold miners filling those chairs.
Just like them, Toby checked out the dancehall girls in contemplation of sampling their wares.
There was a striking young blonde in particular that instantly caught Toby’s eye.
Oh, she meant Delia no harm. She was always on the arm of this very old, very rich guy.

And then it turned out that he was her husband. He sat down next to Toby one day.
When the cards were dealt round, with nary a sound, they anted up, ready to play.
But as they played, he caught Toby cheating! He grabbed his arm, and said Toby would pay.
But he was old and near death; and then he took his last breath; and those words were the last he would say.

Toby courted his striking young widow, and beguiled his way into her heart.
The old man’s bell had rung. The new suitor was young. And they promised never to part.
That new bride was so stunning but vacant. Soon Toby missed being with someone smart.
He missed the thrill on Delia’s face when they’d turn a deuce into an ace. Ah, together they made cheating such an art.

Toby spent his whole life balanced there, on that sharp edge of a knife.
So he made his way straight back to Delia, to cheat – but not on that gorgeous new wife.
He said, “Delia come sit back beside me. But this time it’s just business.” And then –
He felt a pain in his side, like it was blown open wide, and Delia was aiming again.

Toby, he lay there bleeding, with that bullet in his side.
He looked up at that woman, who once thought she would be his blushing bride.
She had that pistol in her hand, and she was trying real hard to decide
If she should end it all now, or forgive him somehow, and just let it all ride.