Student Poem:
Show Me the Coin
Used for the Tax
By Autumn Kennedy
To Cæsar what is Cæsar’s give,
. To God give what is His,
For what belongs to emperors
. But utter paltriness?
Material “valuables” we give
. When Cæsar’s bill comes due,
But nothing’s lost, for nothing’s given
. Which can give back to you.
What poor ideas Rulers have
. Of value on this earth!
The widow’s copper coins surpassed
. The golden ones in worth,
For what belongs to Jesus Christ
. But unreserved largesse?
All things and more we hazard when
. Our Saviour we confess,
But nothing’s lost, for in Abundance
. Everything is stored.
To Cæsar what is Cæsar’s give,
. But bow to God the Lord,
Humanity invaluable
. You’ll find you can afford,
And you will gain the riches
. Which no coin would dare record.
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Autumn Kennedy is a rising freshman to New College Franklin from Cincinnati, OH. She loves big ideas, fairy-tales, dance, and driving with the windows down.
If you enjoyed this poem, you can find more of Miss Kennedy’s work right here at the Journal. You might also like our series on the men and women of the CLT Author Bank, or our introductions to the great ideas (complete with suggestions for reading further than an introduction), including causality, law, man, technology, and many more. Thank you for reading the Journal, and have a great weekend.
Published on 28th July, 2023. Page image of a Roman denarius from the reign of Tiberius, such as would have been the object of the “render unto Cæsar” exchange found in Matt. 22.xv-xxii, Mark 12.xiii-xvii, and Luke 20.xx-xxvi; image provided by the Classical Numismatic Group (source). The obverse face, on the left, bears the inscription Ti. Caesar Div. Avg. F. Avgvstvs (with modern spelling, the abbreviations are for Tiberius, Divi Augusti, and Filius), or “Tiberius, Cæsar Augustus, Son of the Divine Augustus”; the reverse face is inscribed with Pontif. Maxim. (for Pontifex Maximus), “Most High Priest.”
