Wall Street Poet Michael Silverstein's Satirical Verse

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Wall Street Poet
Michael Silverstein's
Satirical Verse

A Dyspeptic's Guide To Contemporary American Politics (In Verse)

"Nowadays, you can't turn on the TV without some talking head telling you about the economy. Yet, in a world overrun by 'analysts,' only one man has the guts, the brains, and, quite frankly, the poetry to put it all in perspective.That man is Michael Silverstein... Silverstein is a true intellectual." — Gersh Kuntzman, The New York Post

"Few people have found much to laugh about in the stock market this year. Michael Silverstein is the exception. The Bard of the Bourse can find humor in losing money, globalization and stock options." — USA Today

More Of What The Critics Are Saying
About Silverstein's Verse

A lot of 19th and early 20th century English poets started railing about the times in which they lived and ended up outright grumpy. Percy Shelley began his short career upbeat but was an angry grump by the time he expired in 1822. Thomas Hardy was grumpy from the get-go. Matthew Arnold became so world weary he could barely get out of bed.

For my money, though, when it comes to hard core grump, you’d be hard-pressed to beat Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909). His most famous poem, "Before the Beginning of Years," summed up the fate of mankind this way:

He weaves, and is clothed in derision;
Sows, and he shall not reap;
His life is a watch and a vision
Between a sleep and a sleep.

Given the current state of world markets, perhaps a bit of Swinburesque grumpiness might be in order. I attempt to fill the bill with my market update of "Before the Beginning of Years," which I call "Before the Opening Gong." It’s included in my Songs of Wall Street collection.

Before The Opening Gong

Before the opening gong
There came to a new trading day
News, of dips in Hong Kong;
Fears, a bond might not pay;
Profits, that came with a warning;
Earnings, but sales that fell;
Inflation, again a’ spawning,
And rate hikes that make debtors yell;
Firms crying out for new funds;
Deals that fall through the cracks;
A press rife with bad puns,
Whose pages are filled by hacks.

Then central banks took their stand
Meeting, they jointly declared,
That the markets shall softly land
And good times will not be impaired;
They opened wide their vaults,
And out gushed a sea of cash
Which checked fears of defaults
And gave new life to the bash.

But down deep grew seeds of doubt,
Investors turned more fretful;
Their hands still reached to acquire,
But their heads saw downturns dreadful;
They whine, ‘cause of stock dilutions;
Beg, but their power’s gone mute;
Searching in vain for solutions
Between law suit and law suit.

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