THE BOND

In memory of Mordechai Kroch (1883-1932)

A rich man back in Europe, he reversed
The old cliches of immigrant success,
For, crossing not in steerage but in first,
He lost his fortune, ended in distress.

He came with money, hoping to invest
In Canada, a country full of drive,
Then the Depression struck. The worst did best;
A gentleman like him could not survive.

And pretty soon his money and his health
Were gone. He died when he was forty-nine.
The last memento of his vanished wealth,

Because he was my grandfather, is mine:
A Polish bond from Nineteen Twenty-Three.
I guess it's worthless now, though not to me.

 

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