CURSE OF THE BILLIONAIRE

We are blessed for a specific purpose. Nothing is random...but we often need reminders and fate has plenty:)

Just another long day, not a minute to myself,

            1000 emails- none spam; my assistant busy like an elf.

 

Can’t wait for another moment, I think I’ll get myself home,

            Leave this mess fresh until morning; leave the Board hanging on hold.

 

Driver’s already revved up the engine, of my latest Rolls Royce in the parking lot,

            Waiting for instructions; poised and ready, like a hunting ocelot.

 

It’s already midnight, how the time has come and gone,

            Other people fast asleep in bed, while I’m on the road alone.

 

My home be further down the road, the finest mansion up to date,

            Yet I long not for all its vast splendors, all of which I’ve come to hate.

 

Why I chose this path? I never can remember,

            All my freedom, my lasting relationships; I had but to surrender.

 

Looking out my tinted window, exhausted yet caffeinated,

            My life flashes in a blink, and nothing comely- a life wasted.

 

All the money in the world couldn’t fix this gaping void,

            Thousands o’ women from here to France, couldn’t help me really avoid.

 

That my sin is worth of treachery, unfulfilled child dreams screaming in my mind,

            “I’ll save this dying Earth, be it one man at a time.”

 

That was when life was a daily fight, not for honor but to the deaths,

            The slums naught a place for big dreaming, more a hinterland for final breaths.

 

So what? My parent was abusive; beat me till I was senseless,

            So were many of my other friends, who sadly now are lifeless.

 

Up to Mwisho* drive, my journey is almost complete,

            “Stop the car.” I find myself saying, as I stare out into the street.

 

Driver surprised and unwilling, giving a speculative glare,

            “Sir I must desist, there is nothing good for you there.”

 

An authoritative look from me gets him to hit the brakes,

I jump out from the back seat, well aware of the stakes.

 

I’ve seen this man a million times, soundlessly asleep alongside the filthy curbs,

            Yet never come across to share my blessings; all from the wealthy ‘burbs.

 

He’s up before I reach him, bloodthirsty and in a rage,

            “Your wallet, watch and iPhone now! Or I STICK YOU WITH THIS RUSTY BLADE!”

 

Just another false pretense, I should have seen this one coming,

            He’d been waiting for a Good Samaritan; well darn this was perfect timing.

 

Why was I so guilty for all the things God had abounded into my laps?

            I had worked devilishly hard to escape poverty, and its share of severe hands.

 

No! I would not be robbed today by an indolent thug; too lazy to make himself a way out,

            “I will do no such thing you lousy grunt, you insolent lout!”    

 

Hurling vulgar insults he lunged heftily at me, ready to make the plunge,

            They say pride begets a fall; I stood my ground, I wouldn’t budge.

 

A shriek pierced the night, as cliché as the very scene might seem,

            Dark starless night, a gruesome bout; Billionaire versus obscene

 

Sobbing fills the air weightily, and a clatter soon follows,

            I’m on my knees shaking, after that close encounter with the gallows.

 

His blood abundant on my trembling hands; his face fresh in my sharp memory,

            But my trauma wasn’t that he wasn’t breathing, or the sudden end of life in a fashion so gory.

           

Twas deja vu all over again; the manner of his thrust insisted a particular lumbago,

He’d pounced at me the same way he always had, sixteen years ago.

 

Only difference now was his choice of weapon, rod replaced with knife,

            Fate has a ridiculous way of making us reconcile with life.

 

Leaving a driver hollering at the 999 dispatch terrified;

            A detached billionaire sobbing reminiscently- his dead father at his side.

             

                                  -M.Babu-

Mwisho* means Final/End in Kiswahili

Author's Note

This came to me in a sort of hallucinatory dream...hope the twist isn't too predictable:)

Reviews

[Alvin L. Kathembe]

wow!its quite long,and it had me hooked to the end...you really do have a gift here...a few lines need refining, but the story, and the point you try to make, come across vividly. there are a few lines that were outstanding -

"Looking out my tinted window, exhausted yet caffeinated,
My life flashes in a blink, and nothing comely- a life wasted."

and

"My home be further down the road, the finest mansion up to date,
Yet I long not for all its vast splendors, all of which I’ve come to hate."

the twist at the end...

"Only difference now was his choice of weapon, rod replaced with knife,
Fate has a ridiculous way of making us reconcile with life."

interesting :)
keep writing bro!!
P.S, do i detect a trace of 'Hell of a Life' in this piece? ;)

[Amanda Dawn Sanderson-G..]

I absolutely loved this piece Michael, and the end was not predictable at all. I did not expect it, yet loved how you added the twist. Your words were perfect and your descriptions gave a vivid picture in my mind... as always I am shocked by your amazing talent and thank you for sharing it with me.

[Lenard L. Banks III]

I love this poem brother I've read many poems before but this one towers over them all. This was great I was entertained all the way through with a twist at the end. Well done you put this together nicely.

[Nastia]

You do know how to kedp your readers entertained. You re good at this!

[Coyote Poetry]

The twist was a surprise to me. You weaved a very good story. It is sad when people leave the people behind who made them strong and wise. I like the description and the ending. Life is a fair journey. A rich man had many children and many friends. Money is helpful. At the end of a life. You can die alone or be surrounded by love. A excellent poem. Thank you.
Coyote

[Tate Morgan]

Beautiful work best learned before life is over

No man's last words were ever of work
nor to rule the entire world
They wish to have given time to others
as enlightenment is then unfurled

When you rush along through your day
throwing away the gifts un-opened
The dreams your parents had for you
the ones that go unspoken

Take time out of your stressful day
try not to dance so fast
For life is not a race to be won
and sadly the music won't last

Tate

[Beth Wilcox]

This was craaaazy intense. I love it!