Sidney Beck Poet Free verse

Who Really Knows

WHO REALLY KNOWS ?

My mother always put it this way,
“No one ever came back to tell.”
So how does the Pope know?  Or the Dalai Lama?
Or any of the leaders of religion?
Who is right,  which one?
Have they been to a world beyond and returned,
Have they received special enlightenment,
Or is it just their opinion, inherited
Like many another opinion,  from  an
Older person whose opinion it was?
Counter-argument runs like this :
Oh, but these guys have spent their lives
Thinking about the matter, have devoted years
To serious thought, with other like-minds.
Strikes me  - this is similar to
A group of Manchester United fans
Debating their entire life about how good
A team  Manchester  is,  seriously  good.
I want to be numbered with Abu Ben Adhem, 
Who didn’t reckon much to the angel’s “list”,
And wanted to be on his own list.  He was right. 

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NOTE

Abu Ben Adhem  is a poem by James Leigh Hunt

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Andrea Dietrich May 14, 2011 at 8:02 AM Sydney, it's a good question. When they actually say they communed with god, then it becomes a matter of faith on the part of those who follow. Thus it was with the prophets of old and perhaps with a few others thru history. I enjoyed reading this one.