Fortune Smiles

Fortune smiles inconsistently
On the talented and the inept;
And when it smiles, sometimes benignly,
Sometimes with malice in its glut,
We think how fair and good our lot is--
Lotus blossoms in the gut,
Peach and plum profusions always,
Hells half-hidden behind a screen.
And we're reminded: even those
Not wedded to pre-cooked, damp beliefs
Are spurred to seek a spark of faith,
Some simple reason to explain
How ratchet-clack and tinny bell
Provoke the carnybirds to pop,
Bark out the names of those on top,
And thrust upon them kewpie dolls.