Poem - The Big Tipper

I didn’t learn much from my father

Because he didn’t have much to teach

But one thing he taught me was to never

Stiff a decent waitress

When his gambling was going well and he was flush

My father tipped big

Often leaving more for the tip than the cost of the meal

He’d pay the bill in cash, placing one twenty

On top of another

“Keep the change, darling,” he’d say to the waitress

Never stiff a waitress

Never fear to throw the dice

Cut the cards

Trust a horse with the rent

And you might wind up just like me

Broke

Liver gone

Lungs black as tar

Dead at 57