TWENTY-ONE TAXI SALUTE

Kangaroo Poet Sydney Barak Lynt is a professional photographer in St.Catharines, Ontario, where he was born and has spent most of his life, and also has a studio in Brampton, Ontario.  One of his many hobbies is Bob Dylan – Syd has attended over 300 Bob Dylan concerts. One of Syd’s quirks is that he refuses to own an automobile.  As a result, he takes a lot of taxis, and has had a special affinity for cab drivers ever since he was one himself while a student at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.  Many cabbies are moonlighting musicians or starving artists, and Syd collects their music and art.  He also takes up public issues raised by cabbies. The current issue is one raised by Brampton taxi driver Donald Low, who is one of twenty-one cabbies, and the protagonist, named in the poem below.

TWENTY-ONE TAXI SALUTE

A dam, broken only once (the foal

A damsel fair), her mare material goal

A lexicon of all desire and fame:

A runner for her purse – took that same tame

Normal Clydesdale sire first victim of her

Con; radiantly gelding his resource.  He sure

Missed her odd jersey’d ride when whip nor

Jimmy could crack her saddle’s door;

Computer passworded to prevent all re-

Lease, a freshening of any kind.  Will she

Mar your manger’s low feasts, your new

[                                                     ]

Dill on cheese on rye?  “Yes, she is to

    Moan easeily, but never neighing for bust

    Me.  Shell out instead!!  Cussed,

    Roger those fares!  My trip sheets now must

    Surge far fatter furlong funds.”  Just

    Share “E” for “emptied” of that lust

    Stevedore or sailor is said to trust:

    Wend your weary way to dust!

Don Low’s issue is that Revenue Canada no longer accepts legal tender in payment of taxes!  Yes, you got that correct – the Government of Canada no longer accepts its own money!  Taxi fares in Canada include the 6% Goods and Services Tax, which all cabbies are required periodically to turn in to Revenue Canada.  This no-currency policy, implemented by RevCan on August 13, was adopted because of declining volumes of cash payments.  Out of 18.3 million payments received in the first six months this year, only three-tenths of one per cent were made in cash, so RevCan has decided they no longer want to count your cash, in the interests of "improving payment efficiency".  [And they'll also have a paper trail to follow via your cheque to confiscate more of your money.]

Copyright © 2003, Syd B. Lynt    [previously published in South of Tuk]