Ralph Rhodes by Edgar Lee Masters — Read

All they said was true:

I wrecked my father's bank with my loans / To dabble in wheat; but this was true --

I was buying wheat for him as well, / Who couldn't margin the deal in his name / Because of his church relationship.

And while George Reece was serving his term / I chased the will-o'-the-wisp of women, / And the mockery of wine in New York.

It's deathly to sicken of wine and women / When nothing else is left in life.

But suppose your head is gray, and bowed / On a table covered with acrid stubs / Of cigarettes and empty glasses, / And a knock is heard, and you know it's the knock / So long drowned out by popping corks / And the peacock screams of demireps --

And you look up, and there's your Theft, / Who waited until your head was gray, / And your heart skipped beats to say to you:

The game is ended. I've called for you, / Go out on Broadway and be run over, / They'll ship you back to Spoon River.