A Lottery

He will never be what he says
he wants to be, and although
he doesn't admit it, there is
a reason he's always unhappy.
There are many things he'll never be.

And he drives, endlessly waiting
for a winning lottery ticket
or to be the tenth caller on the radio.
That is the life he has chosen.

Oregon took what he never had,
but even then he did nothing about it.
Now Washington is the closest
he will ever be to her again,
but her heart will be even farther away.

She stopped paying attention
when he stopped listening.
The only difference between them
is that she no longer cares.