Duping a Broker - For a Change - 1st Half In Text - Plus Full Audio Version

Here's the scoop, friends... This is, as indicated, the 1st HALF of this fairly lengthy poem. The 2nd half had to be posted separately due to Poetry Soup's file-size limitations. No other way I could manage to make it happen... Thanks for reading, or listening, or both...whatever the case may be - Cheers, Mark Having fetched the early morning paper from the drive, I sat down at the table and I poured myself a drink. Right away I’d spot a full-page ad that caught my eye, and I was drawn to words in bold that made me stop and think. Gargling with the grapefruit juice that washed across my tongue, I anxiously consumed the tale of waiting “pots of gold” That sat there…for the taking…at the end of “Rainbow Road,” which led to - so the ad would claim - “the virtual mother lode.” “Monumental profits, guaranteed…with little risk. I’ll make you rich in ninety days,” it promised, word for word. All the numbers sounded great, so I was more than eager to find this so-called “Rainbow Road”…of which I’d never heard. I called a cab (the roads were bad). I told him, “Rainbow Road. The ad reads, ‘at the end,’ ” I said, from just behind his seat. The guy replied, “I’ll take ya’ there, but, friend, if you ask me…it looks more like an outhouse…on a weedy, dead-end street!” “I don’t think that’s possible,” I added as we left. “They’ve run a full page ad that must have cost a thousand bucks. In the ad they claim they’ll make you rich in ninety days, and if I’m not mistaken…that takes more than merely luck.” Casper Short and Nigel Long…both good friends of mine…play the market often, and have done so fairly well. They’ve talked about their methods, but - I’ve never played the game - so all that I could do was trust the guys that - buy and sell! I became concerned when we arrived, though - on the sign - it did say “Rainbow Road Investments” just outside the place, But when the cabbie grabbed my twenty bucks and sped away, you couldn’t have missed the look of apprehension on his face. But I was not discouraged as “financial independence” was what I’d been hoping for - and dreaming of - for years. And so, I turned to face the door, and made the big decision...the time had fin'ly come to “roll the dice” - despite my fears. Gathering all my courage as I stood beneath the awning, I gently tried to turn the knob, but found that it was locked. Very close to 10 a.m., and on a Wednesday morning - the ad said, “weekdays - 9 to 5”....so I politely knocked. The building was so tiny I felt soft would do the trick, but when nobody answered, I abandoned little taps, And in my frenzied anxiousness to find my “pot of gold,” my knocks would quickly escalate to hard, demanding raps. “Anybody there?” I asked the worn and peeling door. It seemed as though I’d stood there for eternity...and then... I, at last, would see the rusty knob begin to turn. The door would slowly open, and I heard a…“Please, come in.” What I saw before me…as he squinted through the smoke…was something I cannot describe with any great de-tail. And if I had to tell someone the color of his eyes, I don’t believe he ever let me see them…so I’d fail. I was rather skeptical of someone in this trade working from a shack that seemed abandoned from outside, And though I did attempt to get his name a couple times, he’d somehow change the subject on me every time I tried. After he had closed the door, we both would take a chair. He sat there twitching nervously, and puffed a big cigar, Proclaiming that, “the market is a jungle - filled with frauds,” and, when it came to honest brokers…just how few there are. “But, you can count on me,” he said. “I’m great at what I do. I’ll make you rich beyond your dreams. I’ve done this all my life. And I was actually once a very wealthy man myself, but all my personal assets disappeared with…my ex-wife.” PS: I've got 4 new CDs - @ 4 1/2 hours each = (62 diversely varied poems), listed on EBAY - under - “Mark Stellinga Poetry” - should those of you who travel care to be so entertained. (We use PayPal) Cheers, Mark