Father Boyce said energy never dies
Although scientists, he said
were observing some in the Russian depths
of Lake Baikal
that looked to be on its last legs
Father Boyce said it hadn’t died yet though
and he didn’t think it would
So energy never dies said the priest
and he chalked an equation on the board
to put his point beyond the arguments of catholic
schoolchildren
and budding unbelievers
So neither will you or I or anyone
God takes us home
God takes us home
On my scooter route to work knocked dead
some weeks back snarled a rotting dog
In death it had begun to disappear
I thought of energy and Father Boyce who must
be gone by now
Red and white mushrooms popped up beside
the dog
Cheerfully alive in contrast to the putrid
carcass
Look Father! I screamed into my crash
helmet
Angels!
Angels!
This poem is partly true. A priest- I don't remember his name would visit us- the Catholics- at my boarding school, Woodridge. He proved life after death with an equation I didn't understand but was well impressed with at the time. This particular dead dog is fiction but the reality of what happens to our energy when we die it represents is way more factual than the nonsense the priest was selling. This poem is dedicated to the unreal dead dog.
ReplyDeleteAnother very strong good poem. I like the way it talks. So many people don't know the simple, open secret that poetry is a person talking. In his own voice. Someday we must compare our thoughts and experiences of religion. My most recent is of the Bible as a living book, answering my questions, supporting my needs. I do think that for the spiritual life to be real it must have become your daily practise.
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