If I were called in
To construct a religion
I should make use of water.
Going to church
Would entail a fording
To dry, different clothes;
My litany would employ
Images of sousing,
A furious devout drench,
And I should raise in the east
A glass of water
Where any-angled light
Would congregate endlessly.
--Philip Larkin (1922-1985), English poet, novelist, and librarian, and confirmed agnostic if not atheist.
For someone who did not believe in God, Larkin nonetheless read the Bible and admired the architecture and function of church. One senses almost a longing to believe-- yet his preocupation with death did not allow it.
Image: Westland Tai Poutini National Park lake, New Zealand
