I am not one who believes that the theory of evolution and the existence of God are mutually exclusive ideas. In other words, reconciliation between the two is possible. What I take issue with, however, is the use of the former to attack the latter. I get that many people believe that religion has been used to justify some horrific acts in the past. Believe me, you don’t need to convince me of that, I know firsthand. Having said that, even if you are the most ardent atheist, you can’t – or rather shouldn’t – deny the fact that religion has been a source of solace for billions of people on the planet; especially the poor, war-ravaged, and downtrodden. I just can’t think of anything crueler than to try to take away the last source of comfort they have left…

I met a man who said to me,
can you believe that God could be?
With all the stories that fossils tell,
the tales you tell don’t ring a bell.
The only prophet my faith is in,
is an Englishman I call Darwin

I said to him suppose that I,
believed that God was but a lie.
That our Universe was born by chance,
and God’s real name was “Happenstance”.
That my forefathers were great big apes,
stumbling around, searching for grapes.
That good and evil on our whims depend,
that death was the end that ends all ends.
That this life we live was meaningless,
with no real goal or great purpose.
Then my dear friend I ask you this:
When the winds of hardship begin to hiss,
and the nights of sorrow consume my cheers,
and my face is washed by streams of tears,
and my heart is broken like an old tree,
and relief’s gatekeeper has tossed the key,
and I find myself alone in darkness,
with no one to speak to except my madness,
weak and broken without any power,
can Darwin help me in that hour?

This is one of the most important poems I wrote while I was inside. You all know what it feels like when a glimmer of hope begins to sparkle in the distance only to be snuffed out suddenly by total and unforgiving darkness. Prison is all inner work and so after a period of battling I remember vividly waking up one night and seeing in my mind’s eye a slain red dragon.

The dragon has been slain.
My head is bowed,
and on my knees I stand.
The colour of my tears is red,
I see the break of dawn.
My heart weeps for what it lost,
yet my soul is full of joy.
For all the wisdom that it gained
For all the lessons learned.

I woke up last night and had one of those anxiety attacks that snowballs and takes on a life of its own. Its power ebbed and flowed as the day went on. Then, suddenly, a part of me rose over the rest of me and said: “Live bravely...”

The rest of me agreed silently and then this poem came pouring forth…

Live bravely,
Regardless of the consequences.

How many lives have we lost to fear,
Some half lived,
While many not at all.

They said to her,
though a child she was,
Why were you ever born!
She looked at them,
but could not speak,
so she began to crawl.

Continue reading “Metamorphosis” →