Life and taxes.
Which came first?
And the Word said, taxes.
But in the beginning
there was nothing to levy
and the Word,
which was oblivion,
remained empty.
It complained of hunger
to creation.
What do I do, it asked.
And creation,
noting the problem,
filled it with life,
and said to oblivion
go forward,
have children,
grow towns and villages,
fill them with a multitude.
And it came to pass,
and the multitude
expressed their debt of gratitude
for the good fortune
of their lives.
Then creation paused
in recognition
and,
on the first day of seven
printed forms
created an army of tax collectors,
laws and penalties,
dates due for compliance.
Then thundered,
the cost of living
is now righteously computed,
what life owes
and may render to oblivion.
Taxes for being born,
breathing,
the beneficence of love
and death,
to be collected,
now a law of the universe,
forever levied
with no exceptions.