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Tuesday 11 September 2012

Fundamentalism 
 

Freedom’s such a fragile gift,
Bought dearly with copious blood
Of guileless youth, too young by far
To fully comprehend
The irredeemable finality of death.

It’s tragic when we know so much,
Can access with an on-screen touch
The truth of how we came to be
Yet, neither you, nor me, or anybody else,
Knows how to counter the insanity
Of the fundamental wish to subjugate us all.

How may we strive to win
This crazy contest for control?
Born from religion’s dread desire
To dominate the world.
How shall we reasonably explain
To our betrayed and unborn young
Our failure to confront this
Life denying vision of a world
Controlled by bigotry and fear?

How might we one day, finally persuade
Those who love death, to cast aside their
Terrifying certainty of faith,
And finally, embrace the freedom
Which can only come from doubt?

©James Rainsford 2011




Note to readers: This is reposted here as a tribute to all those who lost their lives eleven years ago today in the attack upon the the twin towers of the World Trade Centre.
The loss of so many innocent lives that day will always be a reminder of the immense danger we all face from those who claim to know the will of God.

Your views are welcome. Please click on the comments tab below.

Peace to all who visit here on the anniversary of this cruel and tragic event. James.

9 comments:

  1. I am still so very angered at the absolute waste of life...shame on us all! The world is so desperately broken as we cling to archaic mindsets, hoping one day to own the sky so that we may sit upon a golden cloud...James...this is a well that knows no limit to its depth...you know I'm much more riled up than I'm sharing here...the profits that have been fostered from the ensuing "war on terrorism", the theories, the lives lost, the fact we are STILL CONTENT TO LOSE EVEN MORE...okay...sorry...stopping now...this is and was an amazing write!

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  2. Wow, powerful piece. Well penned, James.

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  3. This is a wonderfully thoughtful piece on this subject. Really well done James.

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  4. hard hitting right from the truth of that first line james....as to the control i dont know that we ever getting back in more than illusion...like tash the archaic mindsets def seem to be the chains we embrace...

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  5. James, a strong well thought out write. Your last stanza is right on. Sadly, it seems that it is a battle which will have no winners.....as reason does NOT rule.

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  6. Reading this today April 18, 2013 for Meeting the Bar....what you say is so true and compelling...writing soon after the tragedy shows how deeply you felt it.

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  7. Such a strong poem. Thanks for sharing.

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  8. The terror of fundamentalism (in all its permutations) exerts its destructive force in the world and often we can only watch in horror. Doubt is necessary and life saving.

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  9. Great poem and the end absolutely nailed it. If I ever find myself believing I'm 100% correct, then I'll have gone terribly wrong!

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If you wish your views and opinions to be published here, please be polite and respectful. I welcome feedback on my work and will try to respond if you take the trouble to post a comment. Thanks for visiting 'The Sanctum of Sanity.' Hope you enjoyed the experience, James.