Love & Taxes

“Income tax returns are the most imaginative fiction being written today." –Herman Wouk

I’m not certain about much,

but what I can be sure about

is how taxes aren’t so bad

when you do them with someone

you love.

It’s things like taxes

and washing dishes

and sharing headlines

over coffee before work--

the mundane repetitions of life

--that carry you from

each adrenaline-fueled peak

(first kiss, meeting the family,

“I love you,”...)

to the next.

If I spend the rest

of my life doing taxes

with the same person

--with, as in next to,

or with, as in filing jointly--

I’ll be okay with the

monotony, the frustration,

and the reminder of my

lackluster tax bracket status.

Whether the IRS takes my

money or gives it back,

I’ll still have my date night.