Wednesday
Wednesday morning, bright with sunlight. Enough of the snow is melted to show swaths of leaf-covered ground under the forest pines. Birds and squirrels search the leaf cover with practiced eye. I imagine that food is not easily found at the tail end of winter.
In the aftermath of the great fire that destroyed much of Notre Dame cathedral, the news is filled with speculative reports on rebuilding. Naturally uber-wealthy capitalists step forward with pledges, as if money can make whole what has been lost. I take some “solace” that the crown of thorns reported to have been worn by Jesus during his crucifixion was 
saved. Upon hearing the story I calmed myself to consider several possible responses. I could laugh with sardonic mirth. My cynicism is unbounded at what has been made of the teaching and example of the Palestinian, no-body, carpenter. The more adult part of me might sigh with acceptance that we humans are creatures of habit, and almost nothing, almost, will break our habits of superstition. I know. I once lived such a life.
On a related note, closer to home in Grant County Kentucky, there is a full scale replica of Noah’s ark. You can visit the Ark and the young-earth Creationist Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. The Ark and Museum combo adult ticket will cost you $75.00 for a single day visit.
To resist the impulse to ascend deeper into cynicism I offer this superb poem by James Kavanaugh.
HEY LIFE!
Hey life!
Is this all you offer
With your circles of sameness
And petty goals giving ulcers to the ambitious,
Your promise of love and meaning and joy,
Your fictitious payoff?Hey life!
I’ve seen the somber faces of your children
With desert’s emptiness etched thereon in sadness.
Liquor gives them joy—or a passing romance,
Or a kingdom that offers affluence and fear—
The sun is not enough.Hey life!
Men drown themselves in conquests and payments,
Women are content to rest submerged in fantasy.
Hatred is as meaningful as hobbies,
Greed gives energy and fear responsibility,
And guilt is fuel enough!Hey life!
Philosophers stumble and search for meaning,
Studying the heavens to comfort the earth.
There is no comfort—only time to serve,
There is no prison—save that which man makes
And offers to another.Hey life!
Man is the obedient animal, obedient to you.
He challenges the earth to release its metals
And the heavens to explore the stars.
Only you elude him and mock him
And offer concentric circles.Hey life!
The pilgrims kept busy, the Christians prayed,
The Jews postponed victory and vengeance like Communists,
Cowards went mad to live like children,
Soldiers hid their pain to win medals,
But most men are vampires.Hey life!
Men know that you are in the blood
And so they wash themselves in Christ-blood
Or any other kind that makes cheeks flush
But does not stain their sport coats,
Only their hands.Hey life!
Man lives never knowing what it means,
Contented by a dash of pleasure and the screams.
His joy—but a moment’s respite from pain,
His victory—to know that he is not slain
And can have children!Hey life!
I see your mocking smile
That hovers over sadness in scorn
Without ever sharing it or even seeing it.
I have no time for you—only for man
Who outlives you!
–by James Kavanaugh
