Baltic Avenue

Baltic Avenue

You took God to be your father
and never grew up.  O child!

You took the phrase sufficient grace
and now operate under the assumption

of getting something for nothing,
though the evidence of a lifetime

points in a different direction.
Offered the jewel of infinite worth

you keep haggling God for a better price.
You parse the ransom note and refuse to pay.

You inhabit an old shoe on Baltic Avenue
while your opponent runs the rest of the board.

Still, you strategize and maneuver.
Maybe you'll make it around again.

You could parlay two hundred dollars
into a vast fortune - you're sure of it -

if only you could pass Go
one more time.

O child of God, the price of salvation is your life.
How much will it be worth lying in your grave?