He came to town one day
stepping out from the mist
A man without a job or name
From a home that did not exist

Offering to make a deal,
To bargain for his supper.
But after every meal,
Our town grew little smaller

Anna made an offer first:
Tired of the farm and dirt,
Of hot days and endless thirst,
Anna wished to no longer work.

She gave him only scraps,
food too old to eat
and when she stood, she collapsed
to find she had no feet

Andrew made the second try
He wished for endless wealth
everything else would follow:
love, security and health

He offered a meal he’d burned
Never being much of a chef
So all the wealth he earned
Was insurance from his family’s death

I offered the final meal
Before anyone else could proffer
And only made my deal
So no one else would suffer

To the man I served a simple dish
Of vegetables, bread and game
But good enough for a single wish:
To wish he’d never came.