20151211 (unpunished theft)

Serendipitous juxtaposition

This morning what a mouthful

At Bible and Bagels we read 

In Luke Chapter 3 of the NRSV

Of John the B excoriating those

Who came out to see him in 

The desert you vipers he called

Them well I know from my

Training in comedy you don’t

Trash your audience first thing

Say hello thank them for taking

Time out of their busy day to

Come all the way to the

Wilderness maybe they were 

Curious about the animal skins

Or the wild honey but no he 

Tells them they must avoid the

Disaster to come what must we

Do they implore like he’s playing

This is the critical moment the

End of an age when Mr Big is

Gonna separate the wheat from

The chaff which is gonna get

Tossed into unquenchable fire

You won't like the bad fire

What must we do they keep

Imploring OK youse tax

Guys just take what you’re

Supposed to not more you

Soldiers be content with your 

Wages don’t threaten you're

Gonna break somebody's humerus

If they don’t cough up a few

Drachmas what practice simple

Justice that’s all doesn’t sound

Like a drastic new style of life

Oh did I mention about me droppin’

You in the drink it’s called baptism

Like a new birth and you start over

And play nice ‘cause there’s gonna 

Be a Big Baptizer soon I’m 

Nothin’ compared to him not

Such a surprising message

Considering the build up with

The wild honey and all well on

The way home the public radio

Station has a commentary on

Demolition of foreclosed and

Unsaveable city houses if

You’re the poor dude whose

Well-kept home lay between

Two eyesores it’s lost about

Half its value even if they knock

Down the two busted-up 

Joints your whole neighborhood 

Took it right in the estimated

Valuation the money went poof 

In the Great Recession that’s

What happens when mortgage 

Fraudsters pull a fast one on

Homeowners and Wall Street

Distributes the shellacking with

Exceptionally bad paper huge

Losses and seven years later

Not one of the engineers of this

High tech swindle is in the

Hoosegow there are hundreds

I think that’s a lot worse than 

Greedy tax collectors capo-style 

Roman soldier sharks maybe 

Not but we’d best be advised

To check out the fit of animal skins

And the taste of wild honey

c. J.S.Manista, 2015