Atheist's Prayer
Force of habit, I suppose,
that when the peace
of the pre-dawn day
brushes me like a kiss,
I find myself praying.
Or when the awareness of
my happiness fills me like
the scent of evergreens, the
clumsy name that we have
given the divine floats
from me like mist
of breath in
winter air.
They say there are no atheists
in fox holes, but I
do not believe
it. It would
be there, surrounded by
death and
suffering, writhing guts and
dead men's faces
that I would find it
easiest to cast
God into the abyss
with all of his useless angels.
But when a breath of joy
cools my cheek,
and the sound of children's laughter
touches my ear;
then I pray to
a deaf god.
-
- McMongrel's blog
- Login or register to post comments
- 362 reads
this is good
mcmongrel, I've heard that about the fox holes and have also wondered how people can see god in all the horror that man can afflict on his own kind. I've had my problems with dogma and choose to believe in my own way being respectful of others. I know atheist's who are very kind and I've known religious who were very unkind, they seem to be the extremes. Most seem to fall in the middle I guess. I like your ending in this poem, the last stanza keeps things in perspective. Nice thought. raskin
Thanks
Thanks for the comment.
People who have been in combat have made the "No atheists in foxholes" comment to me, but I have a problem with it.
How about all of those "Godless communists" that we say were charging at us in Korea? (and I know some Korean War vets who saw heavy combat).
There is also this group: http://www.maaf.info/
Some say that we forget God when things are going well, and run to him when things are going badly. But I find it hardest to believe in the divine when things are screwed up.
When I feel my sleeping wife's feet on my legs, or hear my daughter singing, that is when I find it belief to be within the realm of possibility.