A Miscellany 361
The Supreme Authority
by: Gordon Wayne
Your thoughts on this article are welcome. Please use the contact page to provide your comments for publication.
The Supreme Authority
Higher Powers (a pantheon of choices)
I have scoured the east, I have scoured the west,
scouring everything from antiquity to modernity
searching for the one and only supreme authority
finding many claiming the title;many claiming the title, proclaiming they, only they
know the great divine truths, only they can satisfy
my quest for faith, only they can answer my queries,
and yet none satisfies my soul;I have scoured the east and I have scoured the west,
finding a pantheon of deities, divinities and spirits,
people worshipping most anything and everything
beneath the sun and beyond;people worshipping everything upon this planet,
rivers, lakes, mountains, valleys, trees and shrubs,
creatures great and small, beautiful and hideous
people worshipping everything.Higher Powers (the natural trinity)
I have scoured the east, I have scoured the west,
scouring a bewildering array of mystical beings,
searching for the one true faith amidst a multitude
and still my soul yearns;I could worship the Universe, an inclusive power,
encompassing all powers, the summation of all,
strong and weak forces, secular and sacred too,
the power of powers;I could idolize Nature, another inclusive authority
encompassing the entire spectrum of flora and fauna,
the natural forces animating this beautiful blue sphere,
everything we love and hate;I could even worship Evolution, a creative power
existing within every organism inhabiting earth,
a creative power producing millions of species,
the power of intercourse;I could even venerate this natural trinity,
inclusive authorities all, embracing everybody,
welcoming every living thing into their fold,
whether we believe or not!Higher Powers (the power of choice)
I have scoured the east, I have scoured the west,
scouring five millennia of human history, and still
my soul hungers for insight, for understanding,
and then it occurs to my soul;another higher power, a cerebral authority,
shaping our knowledge and understanding,
influencing our convictions and prejudices,
the Cultural Conscience;a powerful force influencing our intellects,
and yet, an attentive authority listening to all,
hearing my opinions and your beliefs too,
a truly symbiotic power;and still my soul yearns for more, for liberty,
the liberty to grow, to develop and evolve
as a human being, as a community and society,
and then it occurs to my soul;another cerebral power, though not the ultimate,
not the one true faith, and yet, a liberating force,
a liberating authority granting every human
the liberty to choose;the power of choice, the freedom to satisfy my soul,
my brothers and sisters too, free to choose as they wish,
and my children, flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood,
free to choose! free to choose!
for more poetry by Gordon Wayne, visit http://www3.telus.net/martinmh/