Some days it feels like the whole world is falling apart. Rife with hate, anger, violence, destruction–it can be hard to find the good. Emotional fatigue sets in. Apathy. Depression. So I take breaks from social media and the news, stare out the window, watch the birds, go for a walk, eat ice cream, pet the dog. Anything to allow my mind to take a deep breath.
I’ve always found religion interesting. As a non-religious person, watching from the sidelines, it can be confusing, scary, exciting, amusing, and enriching.
But sometimes it is entirely frustrating.
One evening my social anxiety and contempt for religious dogma collided and as I grappled with insomnia, this popped into my mind:
I climb the Tall Mountain
Camera in hand
To photograph god(s) in all its/their/her/his
Glory.
It takes a lifetime to summit
Decades of devotion
Moments of damnation
Struggle
Exhaustion
When I reach the plateau
It’s not what I expected
But still I set up my camera
To show the world what I’ve witnessed.
The cudgel came down first
Bludgeoned my senses
I’d managed one picture
One click of the shutter.
Blood pools around me
I fumble in darkness
The memory card is all that I need.
In my mouth I place it
I give up my last breath
To swallow the card
My only testament.
My body is disposed of
Sent back to man.
Carrying my gift
From the Tall Mountain.
I hope the whole world sees it
My one picture
And comes to know it
And realize:
How in all its/their/her/his glory
How bloody and violent god(s) can be.
enlightened wolf 