The Ace is the beginning and the end,
the Alpha and the Omega, birth and death
reunited and reconciled, as plus and minus infinity.
In the Ace the vulgar numbers blend,
e’en Kings and Queens hold their breath,
awed and quite muted by the Heaven’s serenity.
The Ace means the hand of God that lifts,
reaching through the cloud to bring us gifts:
wands or clubs for primal vitality,
swords or spades for courage in adversity,
pentacles or diamonds for wealth and good fortune,
hearts for love and family, to each a heaping portion.
Inventors of playing cards knew the deepest truth:
knew the strange grand wraparound, the transition smooth
from the big back to the small, from God to the human,
circularize the number line, continue the lumen
quite around the Moebius band to meet itself coming,
all the while spheres’ music soft carries on its humming.
But Hearts are trump, as Love prevails in the game of life,
so use your courage and your wealth to substitute for strife.