The Corn Monger

“Plant every corner of the earth with corn!”
Said the corn monger one spring morn'
Then every farmer and his brother
Planted corn and sowed no other.

And when the time came for it to reap
The corn was shucked and made a heap.
When the monger came back around,
He paid but pennies on the pound.

“Supply and demand dictates the price
Perhaps you should have planted rice.”
The monger said it, with his sneer
And took the corn – every ear

Then the monger sat and plotted
With graphs and points, until he spotted
The number he was looking for
A shortage was what he had in store.

“Let the surplus go to waste; don't save it”
“They'll pay a bounty when they crave it.”
“This year's shortage will surely show”
“To double their efforts when next they sow!”