Poems, Oct 2013-Dec 2014
by
Peter Brooke
“Politics and Theology”
25 Page Booklet
The main theme of this group of poems, To A Mask, is a relationship with God. There are other sub-themes of Christmas, moss-covered boulder, the Church, but all of them link in one form or another with ‘God’. I am not a poet, so it is beyond me to write and critique on the forms used; I am also not a believer in ‘God’ as defined by the various churches and religions, but as a member of the human race I believe I can write about the human condition. The feeling of isolation and of loss that so many of us have. For me, it is difficult to be thankful for a diety that I don’t believe in that in any way be considered fair. I am thankful to those who have been a support to me, to my parents for developing in me a self-reliance trait.
Peter Brooke’s To A Mask poems ask questions about belief, about God and for the relationship that so many have with God. There does seem to a theme of underlying guilt and remorse in the poems:
Was it worth it (perhaps
it was) that past
generations should die,
that Christ’s
birth be accompanied by
a massacre…
(Joyeux Noel for Madeline Albright)
and the ability of God to impose his wrath:
…Our God is a destroying fire,
and a destroying fire there is.
If God is not angry, yet
the Wrath of God is real –
space and time, burning in the calm
Ocean of Eternity…
The Wrath of God
But as with all beliefs, it is individual and personal. Which takes me back to my previous personal point, I do not believe that organised religions, encompassing churches and people of authority in them, should be directing or controlling our lives. The individual strength of character brought about by relevant education and training as we grow through childhood to adulthood should suffice.
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