Market Poetry

By Market Poetry

Has the fickle market made you mad?
Has a trade of yours turned very bad?
Rest assured—you’re not alone!
Many portfolios have been whittled to bone.
More than that, good news I share
So listen closely, both bull and bear:
Salvation, my friend is not far from home
Just make it to the end of this poem.
The secret to riches I will tell
And it ain’t CNBC or a magic spell.
Forget about getting rich quick
That’s nothing but a marketing trick.
Please ignore your broker’s advice
You’re better off in Vegas, rolling the dice.
Wall Street reports are a silly caper
Good for nothing but toilet paper.
And penny stocks won’t reach the skies
Unless you place them on top of management’s lies.
If you are seeking to amass much wealth
While keeping your sanity and your health,
The trick, I say, for how to win
Is but one word: discipline.
Speculation and trading you must curtail
The same for margin and short sale.
Quality is what you need to find
And buy it when it’s in a bind.
Find a company with a solid past
Profitable through this cycle and last.
What is sells might be a bore
So long as profits roll right through the door.
On its future there should be no doubt
That it’ll be around ten years out.
Make sure it doesn’t hold much debt
And some yield would be nice to get.
Management should be truthful and straight
Shareholder value they love to create.
When such a company you come across
Wait for it to take a short term loss
Like consistent growth, temporarily bent
Or missing earnings by a cent.
The analysts will all grade down
And call the CEO a clown.
The stock’s price will drop very fast
Popular affection does not long last.
When such quality goes to the bargain bin
Hold your breath and jump right in
For what today is out and down
In due time will turn aroun’.
So lock up those shares and throw out the key
You’ll be rich one day, if you trust me.
Stop following the market’s every trade
Patience is how fortunes are made.
Go out for dinner with your wife
Spend time with your kids, enjoy your life.
Eventually management will come shining through
That is what they’re paid to do.
By holding quality for year after year
Of much stress you can stay clear.
You’ll end up paying a lot less tax
And live a lifestyle much more lax.
In summation, I will repeat
That you’re better off ignoring the Street.
The trick, I say, for how to win
Is but one word: discipline.

Editor’s Note: You don’t have to be a poet to write for Market Poetry. Give it a shot!

By J. Sotabinda

I’m mere wood transformed to paper
And adorned and bestowed numbers,
But I’m most powerful;
No one can live without me:
I make those who have me
Reach their every end;
Those who have me know no hunger,
Not much pangs nor tightropes,
And can crack all their nuts.
I’m so powerful in such a way that
Those who dearly love me
Even serve and respect me,
Worship and adore me
As their own god.
But I’m not a fair and just deity:
I make them my slaves;
My power has a fiendish price to pay:
I give them all they want
And make sure of their every whim,
But I make them toil and wear
Their souls with unrest.
And even when they have me well,
I still make them leave me only when death,
Who’s the only one stauncher than me
Comes and carries them to the netherworld.

Author’s Note: Hope this poem reaches the heart of every man.

By Market Poetry

There is one stock I’d never buy
It trades by the ticker W-F-M-I

It sells food for silly prices
Like organic prunes and fancy rices

Why people shop there I’ll never learn
They must have extra cash to burn

The shocking thing is to me
That their margins don’t beat W-M-T

Low net margins on food high-priced
Means SG&A must be sharply sliced

Differentiating its wares from the competition
Seems to me an impossible mission

Now let’s look at valuation
Its multiples among the highest in the nation

For years the P/E has been in the sky
From stocks like these I quickly shy

You know what happens when you chase a fad
It climbs for a bit, then ends bad

With that said I did not short sell
For madness, I’ve learned, can linger and dwell

On Whole Foods I did not take a position
So my colleagues taunted for lacking ambition

They told me I must be a nut
To watch it climb and sit on my butt

Then they’d whisper into my ear
About this stock they hold so dear,
“Whole Foods is not like the rest,
This stock is simply among the best!”

And I’d say, “To the sky does not grow the tree
Mark my words, one day you’ll see!”

Revenge, perhaps, I’ve had this morning
Down 24% on a guidance warning

Inside I want to say, “Hey punk!
You deserve it for buying overpriced junk!”

But instead towards their desks I’ll stray
And with a swallowed grin ask, “How’s it going today?”

Editor’s Note: The author holds no position in Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI). Counterpoint submissions are welcome! Visit marketpoetry.com for more poems.