At first there was nothing.
Just a point.
A Dot.
And then there was Dot Com.

The rustle of crisp cash
the bustle of investors dash.
Credit registers ringing loud
Young dot commers doing Mamas proud
Every geek's five minutes of fame
After all it's an ideas game
And if it fails marketing's to blame.
Every young Turk and his dog
E-merged from the IT fog
Plans that promised millions spun
Quite like a hundred meter run.

"A few million sir that's all it takes
to tell the wizards from the rakes.
Make it BIG. Lets up the stakes."

Investors blind as bats they flocked
Like ships at sea in Cyberspace they docked.
And at first even big bucks were clocked.
But then the first ship rocked.

A party pooper asked, "But where's the money?
I've seen millions sink and it isn't funny
It's about time I got something back.
It's my turn now, to count the stack.
Dollars have been burnt like fuel.
Account for it kid. That's a business rule.
Newton said every action must react.
Equal and opposite or something like that.
I gave you enough to buy a yacht.
And for that that investment, what have I got?"

"Patience sir. We'll bail out soon.
Another round of funding - I promise the moon.
Haven't you heard of Sabeer the wiz kid.
For Hotmail he got a 400million bid."

"I'm not Bill Gates my son.
And he too must regret what's done.
It's too late, I'm pulling the plug.
I own your house, your suit, your rug.
I'll be back to claim what's left.
And what you've done is no less than theft."
As one ship sank, as if on cue,
A thousand others went down too.
The world economy shook, spluttered and stopped.
And out of the Titanic the little rats they hopped.

Business ideas that now sound absurd,
took us for a spin with some hair brained nerd.
With laws and rules they went to town
but what goes up must come down.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,
Dot Com bubbles finally bust.

And then the new fads.
Complex financial instruments.
Lost at sea creating wealth.
The world waits with baited breath
As Fannies and Freddies
in whirlpools and eddies
spin round, drown, heavy, overfed
upturned green arrows trading in red.

Alerts ignored warnings waved
The Tsunami struck, mountains caved
Giants hitting the floor flounder
FDs now seem a lot sounder
Crying for rescue yesterdays mints
Distributing titillating investment hints
Blurring the lines between fiction and fact
They had cute names for each juggling act
Balloon loans, naked short and rollover,
Not now honey and more over
Collateralized Debt Obligations are sunk
Structured Investment Vehicles are junk
Bonds aren't quite as sexy as James
Derivatives seem like boring games
The sharp crisp image setting free
The fat, lard and oil for all to see
Wanting more to stem the rot
Another 2 trillion is what they got
Swallowing plankton this mighty whale.
The sharks waiting to exhale.