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Previous poem - Karen Armstrong's Case for God
OUTSIDE THE CHURCH
Outside the Church, still,
there is a struggle -
a struggle of a different kind
from the Church's simple
struggle with the Devil.
This is a struggle (my friend,
Firpo, would have said)
'for and against'.
For and against
the world. For
'being born' (Townes
said) 'is going blind.'
The world is wrecked and we
assume the wreckage.
We cannot see
God's hand.
We fight in the dark,
for and against.
We cannot always be
safe in the Church,
safe in the ark, we are
(most of the time) thrown
into the sea, swimming
for and against
the water -
the dirty water that
stains, sustains and
drowns.
The water has a name.
We call it 'culture'.
Next poem - Albert Gleizes's Essai de généralisation