Belshazzar and Antigone

JUST RENTING

You love the brand new car you bought,
But by the time it’s paid for,
You find the thing is so worn out
A new one you must trade for.
The vicious cycle is unending,
‘Cause you’re not buying it – you’re renting.

We all want someplace to call home -
To hold against all claimants.
We work our fingers to the bone
To make the first down payment.
And payments we keep right on sending,
‘Cause we don’t own it – we’re just renting.

And when the last installment’s paid,
There still is no relaxing.
The title’s yours, but I’m afraid
Four governments keep taxing.
And governments are unrelenting.
You never own it – you’re just renting.

Then when at last your kids are grown,
And you’ve put them through college,
They’lll simply go off on their own
And leave you with the mortgage.
For twenty years on them you’re spending,
But you don’t own them – you were just renting.

And when you’re gone and all the frills
You worked so hard at buying
Are trashed or given to Goodwill,
You’ll realize that dying’s
Just payment of the balance ending.
You never owned life – you were just renting.

THE WIND

It’s still as death, and stirs not a breath
In the hour before the dawn;
Then the stars depart and the west wind starts,
To her lover, Phoebus, drawn.
And the first faint breeze in the live oak trees
In a husky whisper speaks
Of love that’s lost and of bridges crossed
And of things that ne’er will be.

The wind is soft as a lover’s touch
When she’s steady in her course,
But she’s loud and wild as a restless child
When she’s blowing from the north.
Then her cry is spiced with the sting of ice,
And she numbs the naked cheek,
And molds the snow into smooth windrows
Over road and fence ad creek.

She brings the rain and the hurricane
When she’s blowing from the south,
And her voice is keen as a woman’s scream
As she howls around the house.
But the leaden sky and the clouds piled high
Make the blood course through your veins,
And gusting air in your dancing hair
Makes you feel alive again.

When day is done and the fading sun
Sets the western sky ablaze,
Then the night wind creeps from the purple east
To caress her lover’s face.
And as we reflect and resurrect
All the day’s defeats and sorrows,
Her calming breath murmurs promises
Of a better day tomorrow.