Were William Shakespeare here today and facing an April 15 deadline to file his income taxes, he might well be inspired to write a sonnet very like this one—which appeared in my first book of financial verse, Songs of Wall Street.
Shall I Declare Thee
Shall I declare thee to the IRS?
Thou cap gain piddling and so well hidden.
If I get caught it means a real mess,
And audits of other deals I’ve ridden.
Sometimes it’s best a small gain to ignore,
When reaching for it brings unwanted heat;
Far bigger gains then exit profit’s door,
As agents come, thy assets to delete.
But still a gain’s a thing not easy lost,
And passing up a credit smacks of sin.
Each small increase to revenuers tossed,
Could better go to charity or kin.
So this I’d rather do, risk a pickle,
Then give those leeches one extra nickel.
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© Michael Silverstein |
