The Steeple and the Tree
This next poem is based on the theme of religion vs. nature; the man made world vs. the natural world. This debate is as old as recorded history. Still, it is a theme that appears often in my poetry. I have a love/hate relationship with religion. I acknowledge the beauty inherent in the stories, the code of ethics that form its foundation, and the power of faith. I abhor its divisiveness and its cult like suppression of free thought and scientific inquiry. On the one hand there is the natural world with its laws which are knowable through the application of reason and empirical study. On the other, there is religious dogma with its blind acceptance of the unknowable and its suppression of reason. Are the two ever compatible? I took a photograph of a church steeple in front of which was a large tree. The contrast struck me immediately. Religion symbolized by the steeple sharing time and place with a tree; a symbol of the natural world. Thus, the inspiration for this villanelle!
The steeple and the tree compete for the light.
Both lifting and turning by an unseen hand.
A communion of souls in the wilderness night.
We pray for redemption to make our lives right,
Kneeling before the altar by HIS command.
The steeple and the tree compete for the light.
Wise men in the pulpit preach second sight.
Right angles of the cross so hard to withstand.
A communion of souls in the wilderness night.
Leaves of the faithful turn, no longer bright.
Crimson and gold in the shadows once grand.
The steeple and the tree compete for the light.
As for me, random curves of a tree excite.
Nature without crosses, redemption at hand.
A communion of souls in the wilderness night.
Tiny angels in the branches sing songs of delight,
Under an altar of stars so carefully planned.
The steeple and the tree compete for the light.
A communion of souls in the wilderness night.