Editor's note: Disclaimer: This poem is not characteristic of all Sharks. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
The Shark
From the chapter: Life In the Firm
Compromise, kindness – no, that’s not my story.
Cold and brutal is how I leave my mark.
Am I bloodthirsty? Yes, law can get gory.
Killer instincts earned my nickname: The Shark.
Work always comes first, that’s a motto of mine,
And decisions are based on the dollar.
Don’t bother me with your personal life –
I’ve no time for those who are smaller.
As much as I’d lived and worked true to shark form,
Wielding power by inspiring fright,
I was shocked one morning to find that I’d morphed
Into the real thing overnight.
I struggled, at first, with this change so bizarre,
My razor-sharp scales ripped my suits,
And I couldn’t quite drive my beloved sports car
With fins that wouldn’t fit into shoes.
But strangely, people were unfazed by me,
As though they had long been expecting this,
They still showed me the same fear – respect, I mean –
Could it be that they just didn’t notice?
The firm members treated me just like always,
No one noted my new row of teeth.
The associates I approached averted their gaze,
The way they usually do when we meet.
I thought for sure they would have seen the way,
When I lunched on my raw tuna steak,
My eyes rolled back while attacking my prey,
And my bite made the china plate break.
Later my ex-wife made not one remark,
When I saw her outside with our son.
He shook my side fin, standing there in the park,
Not surprised at what I’d become.
Do I ever remember, think back to before
And the feel of my once-human skin?
No. Sharks don’t go backward – they only move forth –
And a shark is what I’ve always been.
Cold and brutal is how I leave my mark.
Am I bloodthirsty? Yes, law can get gory.
Killer instincts earned my nickname: The Shark.
Work always comes first, that’s a motto of mine,
And decisions are based on the dollar.
Don’t bother me with your personal life –
I’ve no time for those who are smaller.
As much as I’d lived and worked true to shark form,
Wielding power by inspiring fright,
I was shocked one morning to find that I’d morphed
Into the real thing overnight.
I struggled, at first, with this change so bizarre,
My razor-sharp scales ripped my suits,
And I couldn’t quite drive my beloved sports car
With fins that wouldn’t fit into shoes.
But strangely, people were unfazed by me,
As though they had long been expecting this,
They still showed me the same fear – respect, I mean –
Could it be that they just didn’t notice?
The firm members treated me just like always,
No one noted my new row of teeth.
The associates I approached averted their gaze,
The way they usually do when we meet.
I thought for sure they would have seen the way,
When I lunched on my raw tuna steak,
My eyes rolled back while attacking my prey,
And my bite made the china plate break.
Later my ex-wife made not one remark,
When I saw her outside with our son.
He shook my side fin, standing there in the park,
Not surprised at what I’d become.
Do I ever remember, think back to before
And the feel of my once-human skin?
No. Sharks don’t go backward – they only move forth –
And a shark is what I’ve always been.
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