Shares

There’s been a lot in the news about the stock market lately, America’s favorite rollercoaster. So it should be no surprise that my poem describes, in terms of the market, the dark actors on the internet, who are trying to siphon off our personal information, for whatever nefarious purpose. Writing this reminded me of the movie, The Big Short , in which they described, very accessibly, the practices used to package worthless mortgages into what looked like high-grade investments. The failure of these investments helped cause the worldwide recession of 2008. Hope you enjoy it. The poem, not the recession, heaven forbid! Thanks for coming by to read.

Give me a share of your life.

You’ve got a lot to spare.

You share your meals and share your trips,

Describing with your fingertips.

You share your life with one and all.

You’d think, you’re beyond caring.

Give me a share of your life.

For what harm can I do?

Assembling my portfolio

From all who let their info go–

Mere penny stocks, I’m sure you know–

Yet aggregated, some would pay

A pretty penny or two.

Give me a share of your life.

And if you should refuse,

I’ll acquire it surreptitiously.

Consent agreements, you’ll agree,

Have boilerplate and filigree

Which obscure my darker purpose.

You gasp. You grasp my ruse.

Give me a share of your life.

As if it were yours to share!

The world is yours. Yours is the world’s.

No lock and key can stop my churlish

Mischief. When the time is right

And your guard’s let down in the pitch of night,

I’ll dump these stocks with a leaden blow

And down your market will go.

Copyright 2022 Andrea LeDew

For another market-inspired poem, read Panic and Euphoria. For a glimpse at another kind of market, read The Market Mexico City.