Dominique Webb | + Follow Poet |
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To Know Is To Know

“Once a king or queen in Narnia, 
Always a king or queen,” said C S Lewis,  
And I think I can just about let you in on, 
What he was talking about, as I'm no novice. 

I was forced to read the bible twice daily, 
By my parents until I was above twelve, 
And they always reminded me and assured, 
That they’d said Jesus to me as a new born elf. 

But I got so confused and bedraggled, 
By that dogma which screeches and screams,  
That after a brush with that old fiend, 
Decided to secretly read it to check its memes.  

So I devoured the bible ‘cos I read it historically, 
With time’s context in mind and aware, 
And understood it as a recital of progress, 
And a story of the availability of healthcare. 

Ever since then I’ve been understanding and able, 
To reply to fundamentalists who loiter to attack, 
Able to react comfortably and with peace, 
With answers on which I’ve never looked back.  

You resign that Jesus wasn’t a psychologist, 
You put to bed that he wasn’t a philosopher, 
And in insight realise he was really a doctor, 
But the first one maybe to treat those poorer. 

And you get that Jesus death did good now, 
Let the grass roots of the sick speak freely, 
As the inception of personal empowerment, 
As a voice for any man with a daily disability. 

People were so enraged, and Jesus’ bitter, 
About his suppression and criminal death,
That it became the symbol of the church, 
For the underdog’s freedom and health. 

After you get it, you know, and are content, 
Solid in an understanding of modern society, 
Of the NHS and how it came and has got there, 
Of Lord Bevaridge’s prescription for poverty. 

You never look back, but you regret knowing, 
Sometimes when some intellectuals stare, 
When hard atheists say Jesus never existed, 
When about your reputation you do care. 

But after you explain simply to those you like, 
That you’ve read the Bible atheistically, 
Historically and remembering the context, 
They never deride you again uncaringly. 

You’re not an evangelical but just explaining,  
What you know from a school’s analysis, 
From how your teachers with you interpreted, 
Roman, Tudor and Victorian histories.

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