Jack Pelham

When they first set off the bomb,
They were not completely certain
That the chain reaction would stop
Before it had destroyed the whole world.
But they gave it a whirl, and we may now infer,
By the facts that I have sat here writing this
And that you are sitting there reading it,
That their explosion did indeed
Have its natural limits.

If Satan were gone,
We could then discover
Whether man were capable
Of carrying on the wickedness
Previously learned from that master
While left to his own devices
In his own place and time
And under his own
Power and will.

He gave her a book, she says
But she wouldn’t read it—
Not really.

She was some afraid
She might not like
What it said.

But mostly, she
Just didn’t care
That much.

And it was easier
Anyway to pretend
That she already knew
What it said
And loved it.

If we are determined to have an elected king,
Then might we not elect a righteous one
From time to time—even by accident?

This is the desperate hope of a society that
Will not study itself into agreement
On the definition of righteousness.

It hopes that it will do better
Than its own philosophy
And behavior deserve—
The other guy being
Always the problem.

If children should be trained,
Then let them be trained
Not only to shut a door
That ought to be shut,
But to do so without slamming it—
For both are delights in a weary world.

Dear Reader,
Let us have some fun while discussing important things.
Jack

I can tell you from experience—

And I’ll just pause right here to let you know in advance (for those who’d rather have a heads-up about this sort of thing) that I’m pausing right here to launch into a little demonstration that I hope will set the stage for the point I’ll make eventually in this ever-lengthening short article—which I hope you will opine at length to be brilliant—the point, that is, and not the article itself—although writing a brilliant article is always a nice accomplishment if you can manage it, I believe—

I just did a search, and was amused with the results.

Dear Preacher,
Would you please show your math?
Sincerely,
Jack

So many spend their lives
Avoiding the questions—
Swatting as if at gadflies
That could have
No conceivable purpose
In a proper world.

They prefer the peace
Of incuriosity
To the rigors of learning
As some prefer the chair
To the path.

It is easier to assume—
When one finds it beneficial—
That what we see now is all there ever was.

And thus, by that simple trick in the mind,
Are destroyed in one’s imagination
The possibility of any of a number of
Things previously reported—
To wit, God and Jesus and the angels,
(Holy and otherwise)
And heaven and the underworld
And the giants and the spirits
And the flood and the other miracles.