The Profiteer

A Wall Street financier one day,
while wearing a corsage,
decided she would get rich quick
by means of arbitrage.

Sue was extremely erudite
in matters of exchange,
and foreign held securities,
a realm in which to range.

She scanned a nearby document,
a polyglot spreadsheet;
and since she knew the languages,
Sue found it fine to cheat.

To most it was a labyrinth,
an economic maze;
but Sue was able to see clear
just like the light of days.

It was convoluted more
by food commodities,
and monetary policies
in markets overseas.

Sue dabbled in derivatives
to raise her profit score;
and even ersatz capital
gave her an open door.

So shrewd her money acumen,
and polished to high gloss,
when Sue noticed a market ebb,
she minimized her loss.

And she would then pontificate
when talking with her peers;
but that dogmatic attitude
produced a lot of sneers.

Flamboyant, though, sue walked about,
her raiment matched her greed;
for golden threads and silver coins
were just an innate need.

But then one day she saw the light--
her need was not so dour;
Sue culled her profit through the years
and gave it to the poor.


[Rhythm: 8-6-8-6] (Lines: 40)
Hawk’s Vocabulary June 2012

All 10 words used.

Arbitrage........(n) simultaneous purchase and sale of securities, commodities or foreign
exchange in different markets to profit from unequal prices.
Erudite...........(adj) learned, scholarly.
Polyglot..........(adj) knowing many languages, multi-lingual.
Labyrinth........(n) maze, complicated passages.
Convoluted.....(adj) twisted, complicated, intricately involved.
Ersatz..............(adj) serving as a substitute, artificial, something to replace something
that’s natural or genuine.
Ebb................. (v) to flow back or away.
Pontificate........(v) to speak in a pompous or dogmatic manner.
Flamboyant.......(adj) showy, conspicuously dashing and colorful.
Dour.................(adj) sullen, gloomy; severe, stern.