Taxes

Taxes

I send my check to Uncle Sam
as late as possible, reluctantly,
thinking of Iraq, Blackwater,
Bear-Sterns, Dubya and his cronies,
living it up, so smug in their belief
that they’re right.
I think of skyrocketing tuition,
foreclosures, more cuts to
scientific research, tax refunds
to encourage yet more spending,
astronomical debt we leave our children.
I send my check not because I believe
in our government, but because I
have to. Nothing more and nothing less.