RANSOM Poem by Dane Zajc

You will pay for everything.
Just being born is the highest price.
A flock of mocking birds will hunt you
relentlessly.
In the hour of repose
and the hour of anxiety
they will alight upon your chest,
demanding the toll.
You'll pay, and pay.
And, since there is no forgiveness,
there is no redemption.
No saving grace for man.
There is not enough in you
with which to pay.
Your life - the ransom.