L is for Lenny with one day too few

L is for Lenny with one day too few
04/15/2008 - National Poetry Month post #17, part of The Unlucky Twenty-Six

Lenny was hiding in Marrow Moor Drug,
back in the storeroom, under the rug,
avoiding Big Vinnie, the loan-making thug
who wanted to squish little Len like a bug.

Big Vinnie's patience had all worn away
when Lenny revealed he again could not pay
so if Vinnie would only allow a delay,
he'd have the whole debt paid in full by today.

But Len had a problem--a sickness, a curse.
It made him steal money from his mom's purse.
And lately it seemed to be getting lots worse,
and now it might make him end up in a hearse.

It caused him to shiver, to shake and to sweat,
at night he'd wake up with his bedsheets all wet,
and it made him feel just like a marionette,
if his gummy bears he was unable to get.

But his gummy bear habit had put him in debt,
and he tried to get back on his feet through roulette
but it landed on red when on black he had bet,
and he wondered if he could escape to Tibet.

But he heard Vinnie's voice and he started to fret
then the doorway was blackened by Vin's silhouette
and his foolishness Lenny began to regret
and he wondered if he'd get a last cigarette.

"Vinnie!" squeaked Lenny, "Please give me more time!
I'd give you the money, but I ain't got a dime.
I'll get me a job! I'll work overtime!
And I'll pay you a point and a half above prime!"

But Big Vinnie grimaced and said, "Punk you lose.
I ain't got no time for your gummy bear blues.
I got you a nice pair of new cement shoes,
and tonight with the fishes are you gonna snooze."

And that's how young Lenny met up with his fate,
when a loan-sharking fifth grader turned him to bait.
It's really too bad Vinnie just couldn't wait,
for Lenny's allowance came one day too late.

One of my writing goals for 2008 is to write at least one light verse or poem every week in addition to my haiku wednesday and fiction friday posts. I will try to do this on Mondays.