The Fortune Teller Poem by Kim Barney

A fortune-teller advertised
that she could read your fate,
could tell the future without fail,
no need to speculate.

A woman came there to her shop,
which featured skulls and bones.
The fortune-teller called herself
"The Wondrous Mother Jones".

The woman said, "Oh, Mother Jones,
just what's in store for me?
Please gaze into my future life
and tell me what you see! "

"Oh, my poor child! The news is bad!
Your husband, that poor man,
will suffer much more very soon
than anybody can! "

"He will be beaten, stabbed, and shot;
his tongue will be cut out.
His toes will also be removed;
a tragedy, no doubt! "

"That's just amazing, Mother Jones;
the details are so clear.
You've told me more, oh, so much more
than I thought I would hear! "

"It's plain to see, at least to me,
to your office you are fitted.
So please just tell me once more thing:
Will I be acquitted? "