You’re bound to lose: the house will always win,
in time. At first, though, Fortune flatters those
who yield to her enticements. You begin
with bits of luck, small stakes. If you propose
a higher sum, she’ll play her violin,
flash gold-flecked eyes, throw you a long-stemmed rose.
When bets get high, she kicks you in the shin,
quite hard. You’re stunned, offended, in the throes
of ire and shame. You should have known, you think:
the wheel’s (discreetly) weighted on her side,
not yours. You kick yourself; your spirits sink,
along with your reserves of cash and pride.
But look: she’s left a gift, a length of rope,
the last recourse, or gambler’s horoscope.
—Catharine Savage Brosman
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Why the Death Penalty Is a Sore Point for Papal Authority
Pope Leo XIV marked World Day Against the Death Penalty, observed on October 10, with the following…
The Myth of St. Francis
At the beginning of his 2020 encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis speaks of “an episode in the…
Job and Her
It is said that Job lost everything, but she has lost more. All her possessions—the money, the…
