A Deal's a Deal

Do not make deals you will recant,

Forgiveness, others may not grant.

Consider now a recent tale

Of human nature, morals frail,

A tale that I, myself, have penned

Through phone, to text, my speech I send

As we join John, my dear old friend

In his adventure, to the end.

A Friday night, time to unwind,

At home, John, nothing on his mind.

See, John’s a chap like you or me,

He works hard, lives no fantasy,

He was not born to wealth for free,

And has no famous family.

He is content, but happy? Not.

He sees what wealth for others brought

Although his life’s a decent lot

He can’t contain the coming thought:

“What I could do if I had more,

I could help Mike and Jen, they’d soar!

Get rid of work, it’s such a bore,

Life would no longer be a chore!”

But it’s not destined, that is that,

He thought, sat down, picked up his cat.

Unlocked his phone, flick of the wrist,

Thumb scrolls the screen and taps Craigslist.

An ad, a post catches his eye,

“A gr8 nvestment”, less the “i”.

Against his judgement, John will click,

And to the screen his eyes will stick

He reads the post and scrolls through quick

Expecting pictures of a….dollar.

Instead, he’s met with simple text,

“Thank you for reeding, c what’s next,

I gives to you, yes you, a deal,

Believes me when I say it’s real,

I send you dollars, hold for days,

You send some back, the rest can stays,

That’s it, E-Z, a simple ways,

To makes some cash, no mental maze,

If you likes this, then send email,

I talk back quickly, without fail.”

Once again, John does not think

This posting may have an odd stink

He sends a message, gets a link

True to the post, fast as a blink.

John clicks the link, and what he finds

Digits, zeroes, and dollar signs.

A ding, his phone, email, a note,

“Remmber wut the posting rote,

Now snd me back ninty percent,

And keep the rest, down to the cent!”

And that was it, John did as said

Looked at his balance, shook his head

Though it was green, no hint of red

A feeling came up, creeping dread.

It wasn’t real, it couldn’t be,

He knew money was never free.

Every day, John gained some traction

Stranger sends, he keeps a fraction.

Until at once, John felt the need

From curiosity, and greed

To keep it all, commit the deed,

From shackles of work, he’d be freed.

Time passed, a day, and two, and three

Each hour John received a plea

“That muney’s mine, you makes a steal!

A deal’s a deal! A deal’s a deal!”

But to these things, John paid no mind

Yet strange things he began to find.

At first a call, Unknown Number

Then came knocks, disrupting slumber

A message left in box of mail

“We had agriment, but you fail!

Give bak my muney you did steal!

A deal’s a deal! A deal’s a deal!”

And day after day, John ignored

The stranger’s pleas, what he implored

And though he acted rather bored,

Inside John, fear and panic roared.

A Saturday, John stumbles home

From bar to bar, that night he roamed

Unstable, drops, on bed he lies

Emitting quiet, subtle sighs

A sudden sound of shattered glass

Into his room there comes a mass

A brick, a message wrought with zeal,

“A DEAL’S A DEAL! A DEAL’S A DEAL!”

In fear, John will reply in kind

“Go to hell, get me off your mind!

It’s not my fault that you were blind!

No contract, letter, paper signed!

Keep going, it’s YOU I will find!

Your foot and mouth will be entwined!”

No answer. Silence. Quiet dark.

Perhaps that message hit the mark?

The very next, a Sunday night

Front door, ajar, ever so slight

As John comes home, an awful sight

His cat. A noose. A knot, so tight.

The floor, a phrase scrawled in cat’s meal:

“A DEAL’S A DEAL! A DEAL’S A DEAL!”

Angry and scared, John screamed aloud

“Coward, you hide in dark and shroud!

Reveal yourself, stranger unknown

Take your money, leave me alone!”

The stranger shows, John’s eyes he met

And though the sun already set

His pose, his hands, his face, a threat

Filled John, instantly, with regret.

Now John no longer likes to steal,

Since finally he can now feel,

A missing piece that cannot heal,

And only sees in his mind’s reel.

A deal’s a deal. A deal’s a deal.

So please be careful, be aware,

Or your own story you shall bare,

My name is John, my tale I share,

For you to ponder, take great care

Heed my warning, expect danger,

Lest you steal from your own stranger.