A Black Friday Sonnet

For most Americans, the big day this week is Thanksgiving. For retailers, however, and for economists as well, it’s the day after Thanksgiving. This is “Black Friday,” traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year, the day retailers hope to get into the black, the harbinger of overall holiday sales strength. The sonnet that follows describes the worries currently surrounding this retailing rite of passage.

A Black Friday Sonnet

Just as the waves rush to a pebbled shore,?On Black Fridays we’ve been trained to visit malls;?Well prepped all spending limits to ignore,?Intent on making perfect gifting hauls.?Retail ads, seek needs and wants to mingle,?So they are one, as we go shop to shop;?If Black Friday registers do not jingle,?Store owners know their profits will go plop.??In years past, we trawled here using plastic,?Willing always, to bear a bigger debt;?Card credit seemed endlessly elastic,?What need had we to fear or fret??These days alas, bode great retailer sorrow:?We’d love to spend but—we can not borrow.??**********