[Marxism] Speak, O Muse, of Fallen 401(k)s and Malignant Mortgages

[Bonnie Weinstein <giobon@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Speak, O Muse, of Fallen 401(k)s and Malignant Mortgages
March 8, 2009
Ideas & Trends
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/weekinreview/08poems.html?ref=us

Last week, nytimes.com invited readers to submit original verse about  
the economic downturn. About 100 readers responded. Here’s a sampling.

Worked in iron
Worked in steel
Never worried
‘bout my next meal
Trusted bankers
With my 401k
It was there yesterday
Gone today
Greenspan said “Forget fixed rate”
Got an ARM
Now it’s too late
While I lose my house, my job, my pension
My taxes bail out bankers
(It’s worth a mention)
PETER PATTEN
Melville, N.Y.

I miss the commute
the most and the classroom chalk
I miss my house too.
SUSAN SULLIVAN
St. Louis

Those of us who’ve lost it all,
Thought not about the cost at all.
Those of us who are content,
Gave thought to every single cent.
JOHN DUVALL
Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y.

Awake too late
It took 20 years to
Recognize
I inhabit a den of thieves.
There is no DNA
For fiscal rape
Hence they shall escape.
They stole my graying years.
PAUL M. STAFFORD
Pasadena, Calif.

The new recession
when rich folks must shop Costco
to save on Chanel.
MAYA LELAND
Kaneohe, Hawaii

It’s 2009 and still they show women
with long, open legs on high heels
next to the car they want me to buy.
I have never known such a dream-girl,
no surprise here, as I’ve never owned
the right wheels, even though I am sure
I would enjoy it all very much for a while.
My own car is more likely to be seen
above an oily mechanic, and
my woman, she wears socks in bed,
sometimes two pairs in the winter.
GRÉGOIRE VION
Santz Cruz, Calif.

I worked 50 years since I was 16
Saw visions ahead of the American dream
Saved and I saved, no splurges in sight
Bought an apt at the market’s height
Maxed my IRA and 401 too
Put it in blue chips, not CDOs like you
I dreamed of Paris and Venice and Rome
But I’ll be staying a lot closer to home
While all the bankers enjoyed their spree
Financed by naïve ones like you and like me
BARBARA ROSTON
New York, N.Y.

OK
401K
40.1K
4.01K
.401K
.0401K
NOT OK
GERALD DUFFY
Portsmouth, N.H.

Last weekend
i wanted to buy something
spend a grand or two.
But then I remembered what the tv said
about the future
about tomorrow
about how I may not have a job.
So I sat by the window
and watched
the snow fall instead.
THOMAS BERNARD MARBLO
Charlotte, N.C.
  
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