Six Thirty-Two

Cedric Dread had a pain in his head

So he went into town for a walk

He mooched around for an hour or so

Looking for relief from the grief he was getting

From the sweating he was doing

Which was getting so bleak it looked like a leak

To avoid dehydration he stopped for a brew

In a shop full of books which went through

To a cafe at the back where because of its size

He wisely chose a quiet situation where he could

Sit in the corner and with any luck might

Perspire unnoticed into his steaming flat white

He selected a book from the shelf by his side

And as he dried, began to read about numbers

Just as he got to a bit about equations

Something fell from behind a flap 

And, as with all such invasions and without further ado

He picked up a ticket, number six thirty-two

Still feeling hot and with pain in his head 

Cedric forgot about the ticket and instead

Went home and went to bed in search of slumber

But the number wouldn't let go and haunted his head

Until he lost the thread and was encumbered

By pain so bad that his spirit fled

At six thirty-two exactly as stated

Cedric departed this world

The timing dictated by fateful occasion

That fell from a book on quadratic equation

So if ever such an event should be your plight

Ignore the ticket and drink the flat white