Securities by Ruth Collie (1927)

"Securities" is a short comic poem in which the speaker confesses bewilderment at the newspaper's stock-market listings — the columns naming oil, rubber, tea, and gold from far-off Labrador — and mocks the arcane fractional pricing that makes stocks seem to lose "minus half" their value. Turning the joke back on any reader who might scorn her financial ignorance, the speaker declares that she holds far superior investments: shares in mirth, sunshine, air, flowers, and sky. She owns no copper, tin, platinum, or gold, but claims a wealth that can never be bought or sold — abundant "shares in Joy." The poem is a light, whimsical meditation contrasting worldly securities with the intangible riches of everyday happiness.

By Ruth Collie · First published 1927 · Genre: Poetry, Philosophical Literature, Satire · 220 words

First lines

One thing there is more Greek than Greek to my bemused and puzzled / brain. I read it daily, week by week, but never is its meaning / plain. It is the column that one sees naming securities galore. / There's oil and rubber -- several teas -- and gold in far-off Labrador. / Those fractions! How they puzzle me. I must confess they make me / laugh. How can there be security in what is listed minus half? You / scorn my denseness, clever Sir? There's just this thing I have to / say. The stocks I own, I much prefer -- such splendid dividends they / pay. I've many shares in mines of mirth, in sunshine, air and / flowers and sky, in all the things of sterling worth, yes, very rich / indeed am I. I've neither copper, tin, nor gold; nor platinum / without alloy. I own what can't be bought or sold -- for I have many / shares in Joy.

• Open reader

Genres

• Poetry — The work is fundamentally structured as verse with rhyming couplets and lyrical language, employing poetic devices and meter as its primary form.
• Philosophical Literature — The central theme explores what constitutes true wealth and value, contrasting material possessions with intangible richness like joy and nature, presenting existential reflection.
• Satire — The poem employs irony and wit to critique the financial world's preoccupation with stocks and securities, mocking the speaker's bemused incomprehension as social commentary.
• Inspirational Literature — The work conveys an uplifting message about finding authentic happiness and richness in intangible sources rather than material accumulation, offering wisdom about priorities.

Tags

fiction · mystery · crime · suspense · thriller · romance · intrigue · financial crime · fraud · deception · investigation · secrets

What this Textopian page supports

Securities is listed on Textopian as a poem by Ruth Collie, dated 1927 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

• Work type: Poem
• Author: Ruth Collie
• Date: 1927 CE
• Language: English
• Genres: Poetry, Philosophical Literature, Satire, Inspirational Literature, Humorous Literature
• Length: 220 words
• Structure: 1 section, 1 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

Good citation fit

• Work identity for Securities by Ruth Collie
• Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
• Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
• Readability and classroom-planning context
• Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph

More by Ruth Collie

• The Old Sampler (1927)
• Everyday Religion (1927)
• The Thoroughbred Mongrel (1927)
• The Week Round (1927)
• Her Troublesome Husband (1927)
• The String Bag (1927)
• Life Grows Fairer (1927)
• To the First-Born (1927)
• All works by Ruth Collie