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Untitled Poem, written by Rosemary Goodenough

My church belongs to God.
Its roof the sky. God's church
Has no need of walls
To keep the unclean out,
Or doors guarded by an elder
In a business suit.

There are no pews, but endless
Space to rest. No aisles but paths
Leading to the glory of the setting sun.
Where man's belief in God
Is restored by beauty and makes him part
Of His incomprehensible plan.

There is no choir in fancy dress.
Just birds singing for joy in the sun.
No creed. Just taking each day as it comes
There is no asking, no taking;
Only a silence so profound
That it fills one with abundance.

There is no time set for worship.
Minutes snatched in busy days
To glance up at the sky. Leaves moving
In the wind or patterned light and shade,
The rich scent of hay or smell of rain
After a drought will make men pray.

What worshippers of idols we have become
In the name of god fashioned by man
Cut to man's needs. Supposedly pleased
By rich furnishings and Sunday worship.
Heathens we are, worshippers of Mammon
Using our church as a fortress.

As it was, so let it be. We pay for it
So it can stay this way, festering
Narrow beliefs, righteous behavior
Cruel judgments. When threatened
Call the police and with guns and gas
Teach the invaders ... what? The power
Of idolatry.

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