Sunday, December 6, 2009

Sunday Poem Seed: Faith and Doubt

Is seeing believing?

Write a poem about faith or skepticism. Make a case for either one you choose, or--write two, and make a case for both. Today I can't quite eek out enough optimism to write about faith, but I'll add that one later if I feel so moved.
I look forward to reading your poem!




Skeptic's Prayer


Blessed are those
who stomp through the world
with narrowed eyes, demanding proof,
puncturing
the hearts of our prayers with
mean bright scalpels:
those doubting
Thomases who plunge
their hands into wounds
feeling for evidence;
who insist
they must examine it all
engorged under lenses,
always looking
for the errant thread,
the molecule of blood,
the crust of a thumbnail,
whatever infinitesimal
speck of us we can clone
to give birth
to the true story.

There should be no believing without seeing.

2 comments:

Dick said...

Although I might fall within the penumbra of its judgement, I really enjoyed this castigation of the doubters. Fierce, even angry, but controlled and focussed.

Kristen McHenry said...

Thanks for the feedback, Dick! I'm fascinated that you read it as a castigation of doubters; it was actually totally sympathetic to them. Maybe this one needs a little more tinkering with to communicate that better...or maybe I'll just leave it be and let confusion reign. :)