The Priest

28/02/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



The priest sat looking out the window,

Long since retired from preaching.

His bible sat on the table before him,

Unopened over these last few days



He knew it back to front,

Could quote any passage from it.

He’d studied all the stories

And could recite sermons from memory.



He wasn’t sure when he’d begun to doubt

But it wasn’t a sudden revelation,

Coming slowly over time

Like a stalagmite growing within him.



He’d lived his whole life as a Christian,

Taking the lessons very much to heart

And trying to live a good life

And an example to his congregation.



He didn’t overindulge in drink

And counselled those who did,

Organising places in support groups

Or finding accommodation for those in need.



He didn’t believe abortion was an option

Except in the most extreme of circumstance

But forgave those who saw no other way

And offered them a place in his church.



But over the years he’d noticed

The increase in those of not faith,

Not just a migration

From one religion to another.



He saw that they were good people,

Not the monsters he’d been led to believe,

And wondered how a just deity

Could send those people to hell.



He heard them question his brand of belief

With logic and reason and grace

But what they lacked was an ability

To believe, to rely on just faith.



The idea that someone might be comfortable

Not knowing the answer to it all

Stumped him on many occasions

And he realised that he didn’t know.



There was no solid evidence

That would pass muster in an historical text

But he had faith there was something out there

Even if he had no proof.



The doubts that had crept in to his mind

Were of a more specific kind –

Was the god he felt in his heart

The same god he could quote chapter and verse?



He’d heard of a woman admonishing her husband

When he was lying on his death bed

For not praying hard enough

For the cancer to be taken away.



He’d read about all the clergy

Within his religion and others

Who committed terrible, vile acts

And never saw a day in prison.



Somehow the idea they’d be punished

In the next life by a vengeful god

Wasn’t as great a justice

As he believed the victims deserved.



How could he have dedicated his life

To an organisation so corrupt

That they would not just turn a blind eye

But actively cover up those evil deeds?



He could not shake the belief

That there was something more than this world

But what it was, and who was there to meet him,

Were shrouded in mystery.



He would go to meet his maker

Whatever he might find

And if that maker was simply make-believe

Then that’s where his story would end.

An Atheist on Sacred Ground

10/01/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



        Confess to me your sins

        Release them from your mortal being

        Into the cavernous space above

        So you might be forgiven



Forgive me father, for I believe not

These walls radiate no godliness

No matter how prettily they are put together

Or how great the belief of its designer



I come not to be welcomed into the fold

But to behold the achievements of humankind

In creating this place that you and I hold so dear

But for such very different reasons



        I’ll pray for you, my child



Keep your words from my ears

If their only purpose is your desire

To convert me to your brand of worship

Which offers me no salvation



My redemption will come from inside me

Through quiet contemplation

Not by some divine revelation

Or through his earthly messenger, yet



        May God bless your heart



I do not feel a connection rising to my soul

Through this inscribed concrete floor

It does not carry with it those departed

From crypts buried deep below our feet



The sense of peace I get from this place

Has naught to do with matters of faith

But with the solitude I can enjoy

In this small chapel to the side



        Hate the sin, love the sinner



The sense of wonder and awe I experience

Has not come from a spiritual cause

And is all to do with the majesty of the organ

And the aesthetic beauty of the stained glass



Save your communion and confessional

For those who share your devotion

This unbeliever loves you still

Even if you think I haven’t been saved

The Ten Commandments

11/10/2020 –  Poem a Day Compilation



If I were God, I’d probably think

The ten commandments

And all the others that come with them

Were a pretty good start.



        You shall have no other gods before Me.



Of course, we’d all like to be number one,

Especially if we’re the supreme being

And creator of the entire universe,

So this is surely a given.



        You shall make no idols.



I’m not one hundred percent against the idea

But I’d want them to be really top notch,

And definitely no idols to other things

Like golden calves, what’s that about?



        You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.



Look, I get it, I really do –

But, and I mean this, with all sincerity

No one wants their name to be a swear word,

Even the Lord, your God.



        Keep the Sabbath day holy.



Being God, I’d be well within my rights

To think mere mortals should show respect

Just for one day of the week,

Given I created the world they get to enjoy.



        Honour your father and your mother.



Yeah, I know, not all of them are good people,

And those ones probably don’t deserve it,

But if they love you and take care of you,

It’s the least you can do in return.



        You shall not murder.



So, this is a biggie, even if I say so myself,

And I’d be pretty strict on this one.

So, if everyone could just chill out

That’d be grand, thanks very much.



        You shall not commit adultery.



And I’m not even talking about the sex –

If you betray your partner emotionally,

Well, that’s just as bad and, frankly,

It’ll probably land you in the hot place.



        You shall not steal.



These might seem like common sense,

And most of them are, so just use your brain.

You wouldn’t like it if someone took your stuff

So why would you do the same to someone else?



        You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.



I mean, it’s a fancy way of saying “don’t lie”

But really, its also about keeping community,

Not causing unnecessary trouble for society

And generally being on the side of truth.



        You shall not covet.



Jealousy is a curse, my friends.

It will drag you down and destroy you

From the inside of your being

And turn you into a wretch for all time.



Now, I’d never admit it publicly,

So this is just between we two,

But I’m not a perfect person

And I’d probably be a less than perfect God



But if I stuck to my own commandments

I’d do a pretty stand up job

At keeping the human race in line

By setting a fine example.



I’d definitely rethink the holy book,

Given people can’t agree on what’s written,

And I’d make sure it had all the info

They’d need to get on with their lives.



I’d be a bit more hands on, too;

No one likes a parent who doesn’t turn up.

I’d visit more often than the other guy

Who rocks up every millennium or ten.



I’d get rid of those pesky diseases

That cause so much pain and grief,

But I’d do a bit more smiting

Of those who acted like dicks.



Maybe one day I’ll meet the big guy

Though I highly doubt it, myself.

Even if he exists in heaven,

By his rules, I’m going to hell.

Passing the Church

13/08/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation

Passing the church

For the first time

Since making the decision

To tell my parents

I didn’t believe

Was overwhelming.



Of course,

There were tears,

And bargaining,

And threats

Of eternal damnation

That just didn’t fly.



Each time, though,

It gets easier

To not feel the pull

And I can admire

The architecture

For what it is.



I know they’re inside

Exalting a deity

They cannot see

Or hear or feel

Except through words

Written long ago.



They’re praying for me

To see the light

That they imagine

But I refuse to be blinded

By an ancient myth

Superseded by knowledge.

Trapped

12/08/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



I am trapped.

Caught between

Obligation and

A freedom that

Seems to be

Just out of reach.



I am cornered

By a family

Who loves me

For who they think

I am but not who

I am on the inside.



I am besieged

By emotions I

Shouldn’t have to fight

But cannot quell

And leave me

Bereft of strength.



I am stranded

And alone

In this world

Of make believe

That I have discarded

As a folly of youth.



I am held hostage

By beliefs not my own

But foisted upon me

By generations

Of unquestioning

Devotion.

Holding my Breath

09/06/2020 - Iso Well-Being Compilation

 

I used to think that people would change,

That they’d somehow see the light

And they’d wonder how they ever thought

As they once did.

 

I see reasonable seeming people

Hold the most bizarre beliefs possible

When it comes to politics or religion

Or just how to treat other folk.

 

It’s an uphill battle over the simplest of topics

Like treating people equally

When it comes to the colour of their skin

Or their sexuality or their gender.

 

Trying to have a civil conversation

About anything slightly controversial

And you turn into a modern-day Sisyphus

Rolling a very large stone up that hill.

 

So, now, I just state my piece

And get on with the rest of my day

Knowing that people don’t change

And there’s no point holding my breath.

Senza ombra di Marte

How I wish I had your crutch
To lean upon when I am tired
Of all the world and people in it
But that's not how my brain is wired,

Though of late I have to wonder
If it is actually a comfort at all
When you sing out to the void at night
And there's no-one to return the call.

Do you cling without knowing why
Or is it a habit too hard to break?
Do you follow, word for word,
Or pick and choose for society's sake?

I struggle every day with this,
The overwhelming uncertainty,
Simply doing the best I can
To avoid the unfeeling monotony.

Yet, in the end, I'd rather not know
Than be cloistered by false belief.
My being craves discovery
But not cold comfort in my grief.

What could give a flower more beauty,
A lover more passion,
The night sky more majesty?
Not an other-worldly flight of fashion.

Could you not be good without it,
Not well mannered or honest enough?
Is that all which holds this world together
When the going gets rough?

As the bell tolls one last time
And the final curtain falls,
You won't hear me recanting
Or shrouded by iconic palls.

Do not bear the burden of supplication
When your heart can answer instead,
Nor imbue the air with divinity
Or as a sheep be lead.

Rejoice in the achievements of humanity
Who seek to soar amongst the stars
Not in death on feathered wings
But as pilgrims beyond the shadow of mars.