a question is asked.
do you pay taxes or not?
taxes don’t buy God.
POET’S NOTE:
Part of the Truth, Applied collection.
© 2026 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.
First published on tristanrobertlange.com, March 31, 2026.
Tittu
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Author:
Tristan Robert Lange (
Offline) - Published: March 31st, 2026 08:41
- Comment from author about the poem: Did you know I also compose classical chamber music? My latest release, The Suffering Servant: A Meditation Cycle for Piano Trio, is coming soon under Appalachian Virtual Ensemble. Two movements are available to hear exclusively on my website. Preorders are now open. https://tristanrobertlange.com/2026/03/25/the-suffering-servant-pre-order-now-available/ ... I’m now published in an anthology featuring authors from across the Poconos, PA. All proceeds benefit the Pocono Liars Club — a collective of authors and editors dedicated to supporting and mentoring local writers. Available in paperback and Kindle, please consider purchasing one and supporting a great cause. https://a.co/d/58uxM69
- Category: Haiku
- Views: 17
- Users favorite of this poem: Demar Desu - 德马尔·德苏, Carlos Alberto BUSTILLOS
- In collections: Truth, Applied.
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Comments3
Tristan again I can not help but go beneath the surface of your writes. We are told that prayers and faith buy God but are they not but taxes. To pay tribute in any form is a tax whether crops, livestock, loyalty, service all have been paid by serfs of the past to their lord. And so we are asked to pay allegiance, obey commandments, have faith, pay tithes, acknowledge him all taxes
Soren, I see the thread you’re pulling here…and it’s a real one. There’s definitely a history of faith (including how things are articulated in the Bible) being framed in ways that feel transactional, even imposed. That tension isn’t imagined.
I think where I land differently is that once everything gets pulled into that frame, it starts to flatten things that aren’t quite the same. There’s a difference between what’s taken and what’s given…what’s coerced and what’s consensual/relational. Even if we blur that line sometimes.
Otherwise yeah…everything starts to look like tax. Not sure I’d go that far.
Always appreciate your deep engagement my friend. ⚖️🪙🧠🙏
You are most welcome Tristan
God needs your money!!!! 😭😭😭
🤣 Demar I promise you…God’s not the one needing money. That said, we’ve definitely done a number on the messaging. 😂
Popeye has no dilemma about.....what? WCAT! lol.
Orchi 😂 Popeye just pays in spinach and calls it even…no dilemma there! And complainers beware, Popeye works back in the kitchen of Wimpy’s fave hamburger joint. Glugs can and do repeat. 🤮 🍔
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