Best Taxed Poems
O holy night when Christ was born,
And in a manger laid;
What love decreed that God should be
The child of a maid?
O holy night the inn was full,
A stable near at hand;
O night of prophecies fulfilled
When Caesar taxed the land.
O holy night the shepherds watched
Their flocks upon the field,
And, lo, the angel of the Lord
With glory was revealed.
"Fear not, behold, I bring to you
Good tidings full of joy;
For unto you is born this day
A Saviour as a boy."
Then suddenly the sky was lit
By angels filled with mirth,
Proclaiming glory unto God
And peace to all the earth.
The shepherds said among themselves,
"To Bethlehem we'll go;
For something great is come to pass
And this we wish to know."
They came and found the newborn babe
With Joseph and his bride;
When they had seen, this news they spread
Throughout the countryside,
And all that heard did wonder great
At things the shepherds told;
But Mary pondered all these things
Within her heart of gold.
O holy night when God was praised,
O night when hope returned;
O night when angels spake aloud
And skies with glory burned:
O holy night when Christ was born,
And in a manger laid;
What love decreed that God should be
The child of a maid?
~ Based on Luke 2:7-20 ~
~Written for "Here We Go A Caroling".~
Categories:
taxed, angel, child, christmas, god,
Form:
Quatrain
1
The personal is boring
as are my ruminations on the war.
What I need to do I can't try:
wander without shelter in the backcountry.
Or go deeper into the polity,
join a committee or a party.
Minute by minute and season to season
I like my life but what does it add up to, what reason
to go on? No better than a squirrel
or a spider. Spreadsheets, fake books, girls
I want too mildly, modestly or morally to have.
Can the economy and community be called love?
You can be killed and buried in gravel
Your children can be failed at school and marched to war
You can be taxed and sent to gaol for the honor of it
And there's nothing you can do about it.
Will we find the universe not large enough to hold us?
Will planet after planet be too old for us?
If you were president, what would your program be?
What one question is the key
to another's truth. How do you spend your money?
Do you believe in a god who can see
all and understand? Or is he
unable to care, a different species.
2
We take the long view
that as individuals drop
from sight, new enthusiasts
will associate. Legs
give out, lungs collapse,
but we do not let the circle lapse.
For every Aristotle
there are a million toddlers
who will advance no memorable
theories. But the mist
on trees and mountains,
sunrise over desert, are for
every merchant, traveler.
My sons will take on cares,
which toys are theirs,
as their parents grow
older. Slowness brings us
to our goal: do one thing well.
By that what is meant?
Don't be a dilettante.
Not having found the greatness
of a single, clear description,
definition, the greatness comes in
doing everyday what's known.
Categories:
taxed, beautiful, care, god, life,
Form:
Verse
Manger Shadow
A shadow lurks behind the manger bed
Swaddled by indifference,
Creeping behind
Lowing cows
And
Bleating sheep,
Power without power raising up a hoary head
While in vanity dim shades attempt to weave
A gloomy thread into the scent
Of frankincense
And
Myrrh;
Endeavoring to cover ears of prophecy,
Encouraging ignorance
With busyness in crowded streets
Of travelers taxed,
Bowed down with burdens;
No Gloria’s heaven sent
As shadows pass in front of starlight
On highways straight
Deserts wild
Mountains leveled
And star-struck strangers
Asking only for directions;
Where flowers,
Blooming in the wilderness,
Lay trampled
Beneath pilgrim’s feet;
Trying to drown out
Amen
And
In Excelsis Deo
Shouted out in triumph
To wide eyes
Keeping watch
Beneath olive trees
Rather
Longing to smother a baby’s breath
With a snarl,
Rejoicing only in the anticipated silence;
To leave no room at the inn
For goodwill
Or
Shalom Eternal
Yet cower in a nightmare’s chaos,
Breath held in,
For a kingdom lost by victory
Already claimed;
Futility, the unwelcomed guest,
Birthing fury
That pounds upon the chest of truth,
Stalking the Word protected
By holiness,
Claiming dice unfairly loaded
To howl
In rage
As justice and as peace now kiss –
As swords and spears
Rise up
As plows and pruning hooks
To tend the vineyard of the King
Then sing out the great glad tidings
On a mountaintop
Where people walk out of darkness
Into light.
Categories:
taxed, christmas,
Form:
Free verse
trickle down economy
pissing away
the poor
pissing off
the middle class
as less and less
our paychecks
pay the bills
ironic how
when I was
still in diapers
the rich got taxed
a whole lot more
and yet
Prosperity -
along with rock and roll -
was King
Now it’s all about
protecting those
whose money
no one sees
as it sits
in nice safe havens
Make a war -
no money to
sustain it
Let the wealth
come
down
TRICK-TRICK
TRICK ling
down to
you and me
T
R
I
C
K
l
i
n
g
.
For Brendan J. Simon's 'Societal Discontent' contest
Categories:
taxed, political,
Form:
Free verse
My hero is Henry David Thoreau
Rather than pay taxes, to jail he’d go
With Uncle Sam’s hand out
Thoreau turned up his snout
Refused the poll tax, voting he’d forego
An elderly woman across the street
High property taxes she could not meet
Her house went to foreclosure
Homeless, died of exposure
While the politicians live on High Street
Jonah dwelt in the belly of a whale
No taxes on such a home did prevail
But as soon as he got out
Jonah faced taxes no doubt
Moby Dick's "inner condo" is for sale
Entry for the Taxing Times contest
Categories:
taxed, angst, funny
Form:
Limerick
I been seeing my life through a cloudy veil.
Although it was my fault, my own sight I did curtail.
I believed in going with the flow, how could I fail?
Until my soul I taxed with a enormous bill of sale.
Hesitation became a crutch that I demurely hid behind.
Disillusionment concealed from my unconscious mind.
Instincts I ignored, to my ego, that was unjustly unkind.
Creating a hazy web of sorts internally, once all combined.
I lifted the veil and my vision is suddenly crystal clear.
Insight of self, promises an astronomical year.
Finally squelching the doubts whispering in my ear.
Thinking positively, I make a leap in my career.
Independence is now something I truly embrace.
Confidence is stronger, my fears I do solemnly face.
Life is now full of possibilities, no longer an enclosed space.
Lifting that veil, I can now contentedly say, I found my place!
Cecilia Macfarlane
Categories:
taxed, introspection,
Form:
Monorhyme
day breaks
house wakes
bright dawn
last yawn
hot brew
on cue
dew dries
time flies
shade trees
light breeze
relaxed
muse taxed
pen’s still
thoughts nil
nap calls
pad falls
snoozer
loser
muse fled
deadhead
June 7, 2022
entered in A Brian Strand Premiere Choice Contest Placed 2nd
Categories:
taxed, muse, poets,
Form:
Footle
MANIPULATED MONEY.
WALL STREET.
FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE.
THE ONE DOLLAR BILL.
THE EYE OF PROVIDENCE.
NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM.
IN GOD WE TRUST.
ANNUIT COEPTIS.
THE GREAT SEAL.
THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE SNAKE.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
IS THIS OUR MONEY?
DO WE LIVE IN DEBT?
$21 TRILLION DOLLARS IN DEBT.
WHERE IS THE ABUNDANCE?
HOW FAIR IS THIS SYSTEM OF MONEY?
OVER TAXED AND UNDER PAID.
DO NOT QUESTION THE AUTHORITY MADE,
OF A MANIPULATED TAX SYSTEM,
AND OF MANIPULATED MONEY.
IT IS THE GOD OF MONEY.
WRITTEN BY, CHADWICK ANDREW VINCENT
WRITTEN IN RENO, NEVADA
APRIL 2018
Categories:
taxed, money, truth,
Form:
Dramatic Verse
Now 1738 there was born a man...
'name of Ethan Allen; his craw full'a sand,
Faced up to the guvenor of N Y, State..)
The green mountain boys would be part of his fate,
He took fort Ticonderoga as the hour grew late
This man of destiny; standing up to the plate,
As demands of imperial power hit nerves rubbed raw
Self-determination the watchword by tower and shore,
This flame a'burning makes its seat in their hearts
People "taxed over wars" wishing now to part,
The rest is history "how they made their stand..
Forced into conflict that led to freedom unplanned..!
A maverick Man
Tweaked by abbreviation and footnote
Copyright Joe Maverick 2012
In support of Cyndi MacMillans "Mavericks contest"
Categories:
taxed, uplifting,
Form:
Couplet
(This poem is a lightly satirical look back in history at what
was known as the Boston Tea Party)
Something's brewing on the Dartmouth
"Are those Mohawks that we see."
No, but over-taxed colonists crying
"Wake up and smell the tea."
England taxed her colonies monies
Which they could ill-afford
So they had a 'tea off' party
Dumping tea bags overboard.
England did not heed that warning
Her far away nostrils could not smell
How the tea did brew and simmer
On Boston's waters as they swelled.
Swelling high on tides of freedom
That only fate could see
But too late for dear old England
To wake up and smell the tea.
RETA PRUITT
August 21, 2016
Categories:
taxed, history, humor,
Form:
Rhyme
It's not easy to live with every day problems,
Especially when someone expects you to solve them,
The minute that trouble has raised up it's head,
And balance the budget and make home made bread;
And making and keeping appointments and errands,
While setting a shining example as parents.
Sometimes I just wish I could go back to bed,
And dream a sweet dream and wake up instead,
To find I can take a day off to relax,
Perhaps read a book and not feel so taxed;
'Cause the house work will be there tomorrow for sure,
And I don't have to worry, my job is secure.
Who'd want all the worry I have all the time?
It's no bed of roses, no sweet dream sublime;
For I am a homemaker, nanny and nurse;
The one they all turn to for better or worse.
This is my castle and I am it's queen,
And I wouldn't trade it for anything.
(It's the most thankless job in the world --- or is it.)
Categories:
taxed, family, happiness, mother, wife,
Form:
Couplet
' Seven wonders'
Seven wonders are in the world,
Get to the point that never hurled,
Follows are the seven wonders,
Get to the efforts to pass the tenders.
Taj mahal sway and fixed,
To see it has been heavily taxed.
Great wall of china long and pile,
As long as 1400 miles.
Eiffel tower big and bash,
It is true it cannot be smashed.
The pyramid of Giza human animal,
Around it are so many cannibal.
Macchu picchu in Peru is ancient temple,
Excellency and magnificence of which it is sample.
Petra city Jordan olden and ancient,
Eyes flatter when we see it so giant.
Roman Colosseum the biggest death machine,
No one can survive in its survival beam.
Categories:
taxed, beauty, creation, history, memorial
Form:
Rhyme Royal
I. looked inside of me for the answers but they were invisible.
Blindness over took me and you taxed my patience.
Internally is where I live and my body is what carries me.
R. IP address wasn't found and you stayed hidden.
I waited for my refund and even called upon you with your wealth of information.
I tried to cash my disability check but there were insufficient funds.
S. ince you left I wandered without a plan except to keep it moving.
But I'm no longer available, I'm on the go.
I taxted you but your number was no longer listed.
The taxman always win except when one dies
Categories:
taxed, angst, devotion, me,
Form:
Acrostic
It seems you are not taxed enough
But the government knows what to do
and even though the times are tough
The state needs revenue.
We'll bring to law, a knowledge tax
On each concept that you grasp
And then put forth an oxygen tax
For every breath you gasp
I envision a lucrative walking tax
From jaunt to slow meander
I see a tax on every scent
from garbage to fresh oleander
A blinking tax would open your eyes
and surely allow you to see
That people love paying taxes
Except for taxes on tea.
Categories:
taxed, political
Form:
Rhyme
A long rainy afternoon and I
have time to work with complicated form
of poetry, I've been too taxed to try.
With flower show successfully completed,
the convention starting one week from today,
I'll have this week for gardening and writing.
A sunny day will keep me from my writing,
but with the rain forecast I know that I
can continue what I'm working on today.
I'll get involved in that enticing form
and though perhaps I'll not get it completed,
that is no reason why I shouldn't try.
Since I can't give my gardening a try,
there's nothing that should keep me from my writing.
I'll be happy if I can get it completed.
My muse, perhaps, will be more pleased than I.
I am confused a bit by this strange form,
but I will conquer it sometime, if not today.
If I can't get the first verse done today,
then tomorrow will be here for another try
at figuring out the complicated form.
Every hour I can give to in-depth writing,
is another precious hour that I
have accomplished something, though it's not completed.
I read the lines that I have just completed
and tell myself that it's enough today
and more than enough for one so tired as I.
Tomorrow will arrive for another try.
Though usually I am not wearied by my writing,
this one is a very complicated form.
Next day I check for errors to the form
and am quite content with verses I've completed.
I am eager to continue with my writing
and am wondering if I'll finish it today.
Knowing I can't win if I don't try,
selfishly. I hope others are confused as I.
I vow l shall memorize this form and I'll do it today
and when it's completed I know that I'll try
it in more of my writings for no quitter am I.
Categories:
taxed, writing,
Form:
Sestina