A/N: Man, I started writing this ages and ages ago. Seriously. And then I finished it tonight. And it rhymes. Go team me! I had no idea how hard it was to make an entire long poem rhyme. Now I do. Remind never to attempt it again. Anyways, I don’t think this is excellent by any means, but really, I put too much effort into it and wasted so much time on it that I can’t not post it. And that’s that.

Death of the Rich Man

“Pleasure to meet you; I’ll be your demise,”
Said the man with the gun and the truth in his eyes.
The man with the bullet said “What a surprise,
I’d never expected you here.”

“Well they’re right when they say that you never can know,
So why don’t you just sit back and enjoy the show?”
And the man with the bullet saw long shadows grow
Over all that he once had held dear.

O’er the seaside martinis, the opening nights,
The first time he’d ever seen his name in lights,
The times he’d been told that he’d gotten it right,
One by one did they all disappear.

And when it was over, the man with the gun
Said: “I tell ya’ my friend, the fun’s only begun!
The part that comes next, as you’ll see, is the one
When it all becomes perfectly clear.”

Then the man with the bullet saw images play,
And he watched with an ever increasing dismay,
But try as he might he could not look away
Bound fast by the death grip of fear.

He saw himself crawl to the top of his game,
Saw as he pushed off those attempting the same.
He watched as he wallowed in money and fame,
And the other looked on with a sneer.

“So you’ve seen what you were and seen what you were not.
Now tell me, friend, did you connect all the dots?
Because now is the time to be told of your lot,
And you’re not gonna like what you hear.”

The man with the bullet was filled with sick dread
As the flickering hellfire danced ‘round in his head,
And he wished that all this could have been left unsaid.
Then the man with the gun came in near.

“For your pride and refusal to walk with the weak,
For your greed and your mindless competitive streak,
My friend, you will find that your future is bleak,
And the torment to come, without peer.”

“In order to fully pay all of your dues,
You’ll be made to live life in the other man’s shoes.
You’ll finally learn what it’s like when you lose,
Every day, man, year after year.”

So the man with the bullet had to pay off his debt,
By wanting the things that he couldn’t quite get,
And through all of his life, he’d never forget
Those words that still rang in his ear.