The World As It is (An Advent Poem)

The World As It Is
(An Advent Poem)
Blind Man at the Gate

I take the world as it is and still believe

Debauched and beautiful, sordid and seemly

Where Kerouac is a secular saint

Heard uncensored telling his story

On the road with Dean Moriarty

In the long run Merton took a better road

But still the beat goes on…

Take your stand on whatever smidgen of faith you have

Smack-dab in a world of hustlers and hookers, users and losers, liars and lovers

Don’t waste your life on a pastel watercolor faith

That runs if touched by a tear or a drop of sweat

Can you take the world as it is

And still believe in God?

Can you take people as they are

And still believe in love?

Or do you only play at make believe?

A world of terracotta saints

Of little houses on soundstage prairies

So not at home in the world as it is

That you can’t wait for it to be left behind

That, my friend, is no real faith

It’s scripted B-movie phoniness

Rated G (for gullible audiences)

A real faith lives in a real world

The world as it is

Sordid and seemly

Debauched and beautiful

It’s the little town of Bethlehem

Good enough for the Son of God

BZ

(The artwork is Kitchenette by Bob Dylan.)