Paris: Perfect Hope through Wild Cruelty

Its difficult to keep a sober heart in times when we see more gravestones than horizons, and those dreadful scenes in Paris barely a week ago, has made that foul brew of tragedy more bitter. More soul crushingly dark. It would be all too easy to mould our hearts into fists of vengeance and get lost forever in a carnival of blood and anger.
Fortunately the descent into chaos is slowed by exceptional souls. People like Antoine Leiris, a Parisian who penned an open letter to the terrorists telling them that they will not win his hatred. The achingly sad letter has gone viral on social media, and gives us a glimpse hope in purest form. I have read it five times now and each time the reading forges what feels like solid tears anew. I won't copy it all here because I feel that would somehow intrude on his Facebook post but here is a snippet:

"I saw her this morning. Finally, after nights and days of waiting. She was just as beautiful as when she left on Friday night, just as beautiful as when I fell hopelessly in love over 12 years ago. Of course I am devastated by this pain, I give you this little victory, but the pain will be short-lived. I know that she will be with us every day and that we will find ourselves again in this paradise of free love to which you have no access."

And I am crying again now. Such a beautiful force to make the darkness tremble! A lone voice among the fiery bones of despair. Pure hearted spirits like Antoine Leiris are truly the lifeforce orld needs to crush evil, keepers of a diamond light that can, and will, banish send hatered howling into the void.

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Antoine Leiris. Your strength and courage brings hope with the power of a tempest. No words of mine can ever describe the love. Godspeed your healing.

The Other Thomas

Poet R.S. Thomas

On this Good Friday, we also celebrate 100 years since the birth of R.S. Thomas, one of Wales' greatest poets. (He was also an Anglican priest.) It has been said that Thomas found communicating with God hard, indeed many even thought him an athiest but I think this is to miss the point completely. Read his works and you will soon discover that Thomas used his poetry to reveals his 'version' of God. A God that shows Himself in small doses if you will, through nature which was featured heavily in his beautiful work.
Work, that much like my own poetry, was not written with a solid idea or agenda in mind before putting pen to paper, but words and imagery that unfolded as soon as he wrote. What I like to call 'living poetry'. It really is a joy to read.

Night Sky by R.S. Thomas

What they are saying is
that there is life there, too:
that the universe is the size it is
to enable us to catch up.

They have gone on from the human:
that shining is a reflection
of their intelligence. Godhead
is the colonisation by mind

of untenanted space. It is its own
light, a statement beyond language
of conceptual truth. Every night
is a rinsing myself of the darkness

that is in my veins. I let the stars inject me
with fire, silent as it is far,
but certain in its cauterising
of my despair. I am a slow

traveller, but there is more than time
to arrive. Resting in the intervals
of my breathing, I pick up the signals
relayed to me from a periphery I comprehend.

Wondering Where Meadow Ravens Hang

What I am about to say/write is nothing new, so please don't pin back your earholes completely in anticipation of some world stopping revelation brought by the mucas mind of a dry (today) poet. Its nothing new, and something I have said before but there is grit in my tetchy hub of a mind, making me jumpy and frustrated and I must release the grip of the thumbscrews once again.
Religion. Wherever I end up on the interwebz my shapely ass is blown away by the ignorance and fear a lot of people have for it. Man seems to live just fine and dandy in his own church but step inside the kingdom of faith of another and he crumbles, bleeds like a bald dog before a bear's claws. It is truly a puzzle. Not everyone suffers from this absurd fear of course, a lot get on great with other folk of differing beliefs but for those who are afraid, I am at a loss as to understand why.


Stepping stones of fear for most

Its been around ever since we thought it was a good idea to have an all knowing, creating, omnipresent deity to fall to our knees to but what the advent of the super highway and it being in my face every single day, its become so tiresome. Who would have imagined that something as invisible as a god, could be so destructive? So dividing and pulling folk apart. Surely this was not the Plan? The capital P plan? The Christians and Muslims are the two who are currently at it with teeth bared and bibles and korans at dawn, fuelled further by the tragic events of 9/11. Here is an example from the world wise web ~ "I can tell you this much, it's not the KKK, Jews, Baptists that are commiting these acts of terrorism against the USA. It's not the Blacks, Mexicans, Japs, etc that are doing it either. It's Muslems, plane and simple." I left the spelling mistakes in to illustrate the typcial type of lazy ass who make these idiotic statements. Its a pretty foul display is it not?
I appreciate the anger but it wasn't Muslims who plotted and carried out this atrocity. It was brainwashed terrorists, and good honest to God *insert favourite God here* Muslims were appalled by the events of 9/11.
But there will always be those with hidden agendas, needing to plant a seed of hate in gullible peoples heads. And then we are left with names like 'ragheads' and 'turbanators', which quite frankly are vulgar in the extreme and not befitting a supposed civilized world. I suppose people need to resort to something, even something as hollow as name calling, when all reason and fight has billowed from their raspy lungs. And by the way, Im not wanting to deny folk their outrage but its often directed in the wrong direction. And also I myself have use the name 'raghead' in weaker moments so im not playing a 'high and mighty' card here.
Personally with all of the battle axes and war cries that have showered this planet since Man was created/hatched/landed, I find little proof today (little not none) of the existence of a God, certainly not enough for me to follow blindly some lines of preachy text on pages of holy books no matter what their faith.
My world is simple, devoid of the stresses others seem to enjoy living on. I actually DO believe in a being who created all of this *lifts a potted cactus* but its something unlike the rest of the pews believe and I have no dislike to anyone purely because of who they pray to. I don't want to bomb them or force my beliefs down their throats. I have no urge to rip up their holy books and call them barbarians. Why? Because their faith differs from mine? Please, move along, I want to talk to the meat not the limpets.
I'll never get this separtist idea of religion, nor do I want to.

Religion Pigeons

Religion gives me a headache. Organised religion gives me a headache x100. And there is nothing worse than Christains and Muslims (or any other faiths) bickering online. I thought this faith stuff was all about peace and love? Theres precious little of either between these sheeple. (People + sheep, geddit?) All I see and hear are spiteful, bitchy remarks falling from the mouths of supposedly mature human beings.
"The Koran teaches to beat your wives and stone adulterers!" Sez the Christians. "Christians are all immoral boozers!" Chant the Muslims. While the Jews who not being as mouthy, stand around and wonder at the foolishness of it all. And im with them. If Heaven or Nirvana or wherever actually exists, I sincerely hope these folks aren't on the invite list. Too much Hate in them.
Im currently reading the Koran for my own interest and it has some beautiful passages in it (as does the Bible), I wish others would pick up a copy too. The ones who rubbish it while clearly never having read it.
One thing ive noticed is at least Islam is a religion that recognizes and respects Abraham, Moses and Jesus as wonderful prophets. A pity Christianity doesn't return the favour. And I have heard Muslims speak of Christ but the church however do not consider Muhammad as a prophet ever. Why? Some kind of spiritual insecurity?


Word!

I will probably get whiners for having written this in slight favour of the Koran but seeing as both books preach the same thing, I don't believe ive done any great harm. I have much admiration for any *insert chosen faith here* who go about their life in peace and without spiteful remarks toward other beliefs. To those who are offended by other religions then you need to reconsider your stance because it is a cold door that awaits you, and a very rough path beyond this one in Life.
Actually a fitting Afterlife for these narrowminded pew sitters and prayer mat botherers would be a giant, eternal childrens play park complete with Dunces hats and snidey angels.
Allāhu Akbar!