Tag: 2020

Words

Stop Trying to Make Sense of This (Life)

Mark William Jackson

At the entrance to the train station,

a Jehovah’s witness one side,

a Morman at the other,

both trying to save my soul,

one booklet at a time,

while emails fly in to my pocket

offering better interest rates

and great deals on airfares.

 

The news tells me

that a virus is spreading

and floods have replaced the fires,

I guess the blood dimmed tide

has indeed been loosed,

and innocence replaced

by ignorance.

 

But if you try the impeach the guilty,

who are racked not with remorse

but a nuclear sense of entitlement,

then I’ll refer you back to distract;

soul to soul, airfares

and interest rates.

 

Unattributed moulding fixed to wall near Central Station, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 9 June 2015.

Look on the bright side,

we’re all bound to die.

Then ask yourself a question,

what will you leave behind?

It’s easier to be a churchgoer

than a good Christian.

 

Words

How Am I Supposed to Choose a God?

Mark William Jackson

If I can’t tell the difference

between a hydrangea and an azalea

how am I supposed to choose a God?

 

If I can’t choose between

Blur and Oasis

or which car to drive,

which cigarettes,

bottle of whisky,

am I a cat or dog person,

would I like fries with my order,

would I like to upsize for an extra dollar,

should I carry an umbrella,

should I shift my retirement savings

from conservative to a riskier strategy

if it means I’ll get a better return?

 

How am I supposed to choose a God

if I can’t pick which people I’m meant to decry?

I mean, which gospel should I deny? Which flag should I burn?

Can I imagine no religion and choose the Gospel of John?

How am I supposed to choose a God if I like everyone?