Romans saw omens but over-extended
Mayans lost water on which they depended
Qin caved-in under floods & droughts
Egyptians inflicted by military routs
Phoenicians ceased in trade war traumas
Greeks peaked at fractious borders
Ottomans bottomed, politically arthritic
Sumerians despaired when their soil turned acidic
(So our imminent collapse should hold no surprises
Preceded by so many famous demises)
May 17th, 2024
in an empty hire van heading for
home
moving job done
Martha to Manchester
the start of something better
and we’re making good time
I’m hardly trying
any quicker’s technically flying
but then … not
cars, lorries, EVERYTHING stopped
the motorway a parking lot
time passes
in a convoy of yawns
and stationary sunglasses
drivers get out
straining to see what the nothing’s about
uncertainly birthed
on the tarmac earth
in comfort onesies and business skirts
overalls, trainers, ties and shirts
from ETA to absolute nought
surviving on the last of the M&Ms they bought
while the traffic in the northbound stretch
rushes back to the life they left
how suddenly
how completely everything changes
routes into roots
the wind winding through a field of wheat
a baby in a woman’s arms
life barely begun
laughing at the line of cars
reaching for the sun
so why did Jesus cry out on the cross?
was he lost?
double-crossed?
finally failed
by the father he’d trailed
as the one true god who always prevail’d?
the beard in the sky
the good time guy
the holy moly hero on high
CEO
of everything below
the man who made everything – yea – even the iron
they forged into nails to crucify ‘im
jeez – thanks dad
my bad
I thought for a second you were on my side
I’d give you the finger but my hands are tied
peaked too early
went too late
lost it at
the starting gate
blew his chances
luck n’wad
went for the meg with a fishing rod
his journey of a thousand miles started with a trip
his unsinkable plans lost all hands with the ship
a lunchtime Lennon spelled L E M O N
mr drift of the mr men
a tattooed star, a shirk in progress
a defection from the selection process
cometh the hour cometh the meh
and is he happy with that?
I think so.
Yeah
A Jehovah’s Witness visited
and though our interest was limited
she politely insisted
on leaving a leaflet
so we could take time and study it
the leaflet was called:
Should You Believe in a Creator? You Decide
with a picture of people on a mountainside
looking up at the milky way
which looked a bit photoshopped but that’s okay
it’s not easy getting a shot like that
especially when you live in a flat
anyway
the JW was okay
seemed friendly
complimentary
(I’m sorry to say we denied her entry)
later I skimmed it
would’ve binned it
rejected it
if the JW wasn’t coming back and expected it
but I did like some of the leaflet photos
like this woman caught in a thinking pose
between someone holding a big black Bible
and someone else with a DNA spiral
with chapter headings like:
What Scientists Cannot Tell Us
or
How Can You Decide?
or
Examine the Evidence
with pictures of comically cosmic events
like lava spilling out of vents
or Adam and Eve in a line with rhinos
(suspiciously CIS but what do I know)
I think the basic thrust of it was
there HAD to be a Creator because
there was such a variety of squids and plants
and things like ants couldn’t happen by chance
all this complexity from one big bang?
the natural world from a perfect blank?
nothing comes from nothing as Shakespeare said
(and would say a lot more but he’s currently dead)
there MUST be a God
atheists are crazy, downright odd
but you see
it seems to me
that whale in the picture doesn’t have a notion
how it came to be arsing about in the ocean
it lives its whole whale life quite innocent
of only eating krill as a heavenly instrument
to the glory of some beardy bloke
who harvests devotion but hates god jokes
so I’m sorry JW, it’s a no from me
to the question you asked so pleasantly
doing your best
on your door-to-door quest
to leaflet and illuminate us
making sense of our place in the universe
but honestly? I find your rubric stifling
(do you want it back or shall I put it in recycling?)
jim clayton 