AMD's Prosodic Conundrum

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As you may have noticed, I'm paying tribute to National Poetry Month these days, normally with a short verse atop the usual Foolishness. In the case of AMD (NYSE: AMD) and the misguided nature of its defensive response to Intel's (Nasdaq: INTC) aggressive market moves, I was moved to express the company's situation as a villanelle. Enjoy, and remember that the interpretation is half the point of poetry -- if not more.

The Quilt, or the Quitter?
A eulogy for confidence lost

You know what's blocking the road ahead.
Bracing for hard times in a cool, chilly sweat,
Prepare the needle and pull the thread.

Canadian graphics, American debt,
The promise is big, but so is the bet.
You know what's blocking the road ahead.

When already lean, cutting costs can upset
The best-laid plans that the surgeon forgets
When preparing the needle to pull the thread.

It's bulky, it's tough, it may fill you with dread,
Your rival too crafty, the market too set;
But you know what's blocking the road ahead.

For the prices you're paying, is it worth what you get?
Don't go too far away from your vision, not yet.
Just prepare the needle and pull the thread.

To give up the future for some safety would shed
The values that brought you -- it's not that great a threat.
You know what's blocking the road ahead,
So prepare the needle and pull the thread!

Further Foolishness:

• Intel Not Going Gentle
• Foolish Forecast: Give Me Hope, AMD (which they really didn't)
• Intel Slugs It Out: Fool by Numbers

Intel is a Motley Fool Inside Value pick that is still on sale relative to the market. A free 30-day trial will get you the inside scoop on this fire sale.

Fool contributor Anders Bylund is an AMD shareholder but holds no other position in any of the companies discussed here. You can check out Anders' holdings if you like, and Foolish disclosure whispers and sings to your soul like the mellifluous mistral.