April 10, 2007

the new religion

a holy sonnet for airline security

One thing has now become completely clear:
the enemy of Faith’s not doubt, but fear.
Religion — as its role has always been,
is less to nourish Faith, than banish doubt —
now soothes our fear of those who are without:
the terrorists, those ominous foreign men
who, full of call and resolute self-will,
destroy themselves and countless others kill.

So a new caste of priests has been ordained,
that order and decorum be maintained;
and as on holy ground we doff our shoes,
while scrying augurs Samsonite peruse,
they wand us as we pass the airway gate —
baptized anew, and only slightly late.

Tobias Haller BSG
April 9, 2007


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Someone had to fly near the holiday I take it?

All the Best,

-B

-frank said...

Heaven can wait. I've got a plane to catch.

cheers

June Butler said...

It's not fun any more, is it?

Tobias, you should have this printed on a card and hand it to the new priests after you've run the gauntlet, as a tract. Oh, wait. Better not. They could call you back.

sharecropper said...

Like Moses we remove our shoes on holy ground,
But, lo, a bottle of gel soap has been found,
So the wand is waved
And, we are saved
Never mind that we look like a clown