Madoff made off with the money;

for years it wasn’t known;

he surely wasn’t doing this

all by himself alone.

He wouldn’t talk about it, nor

mention those by name;

he knew the penalty of fraud

would still be all the same.

He swindled billions daringly –

a brazen, tactful pelf –

thought not of those he sadly hurt;

but only of himself.

Indeed, his method worked so well

that nobody suspected;

it was a blatant, cunning scheme,

far from being detected.

Dreams of those he shattered

Left them with no hope,

except to feel despondent

and sorrowfully mope.

One hundred fifty years of pain

in prison could not change

the fate of those that suffered

a misery so strange!

And when we pause to contemplate

how clearly he had fooled

the entity that makes the rules

for which they seemed well-schooled.

When warned, they yet maintained he was

Indeed, so truly blameless –

“The hell with those that feel he was

unprincipled and shameless!”

They took his property away,

and got some money, too,

but where did he conceal the rest?

As yet there is no clue.

Life wouldn’t be the same for those

whose savings he had taken,

and while he gets no sweet repose,

They feel so dammed forsaken!