Bland On Bland – Paradise
Photo By Jools Thatcher
The theme for this week’s JVG Radio Method poem is “Paradise”
Ed Bates returns to the guitar duties this week
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Paradise
Paradise – the pay off, for all our earthly toil
The refuge of the righteous when they leave this mortal coil
Embraced by most religions – it serves both hope and fear
Dangled like a carrot – the believer’s panacea
This earthly plane derided, where flesh and lust enslave
The grass is always greener on the far side of the grave
‘Revelations’ tells us there’s a limit to the throng
One hundred and forty four thousand – That’s smaller than Geelong
With priority for Saints and other VIPs
Rabbis, Popes and Mullahs – it’s going to be a squeeze
Misguided “Martyrs”- TV Evangelists as well
No pun intended, they don’t stand a chance in hell
Despite allowing for no-shows, heretics and cheats
Religions, like the airlines, have flogged more fares than seats
They could add some extra levels, either underneath, or heighten
Or just extend the boundaries – they do it all the time in Brighton
In these days of litigation it wouldn’t be surprising
If some jilted, hell bound, lawyer sues for false advertising
Is paradise, like Noosa, a resort for the elite?
Exclusive, perfect weather, a fashionable retreat?
While hell, like the Gold Coast, is a haven for the masses
An environmental nightmare, consumed by greenhouse gasses
Will discrimination still bind a woman’s soul?
The same religious bias, that gives men, on earth, control
Will their souls be subjugated on grounds both fraudulent and glib?
Or finally, set free from the clutch of Adam’s rib?
Is paradise a garden, rivers filled with milk?
Palaces of gold, rubies, pearls and silk?
Like the cover of ‘The Watchtower’, green hills and endless dawns
It begs the eternal question – Who mows the bloody lawns?
Cherubs buzzing round on ride-ons, shattering the peace?
Or hoons dragged up from hell and let loose on day release?
Will a hundred virgins greet me as I sneak through heaven’s doors?
I appreciate the gesture but I’d prefer a hundred whores
Or is paradise much closer, in our minds and in our hearts?
In the laughter of our children, in the joy, that love imparts?
Unexpected moments, as complete as they are brief
The sum of all our kindnesses, compassion and belief
If paradise exists, I suspect it lies within us
But if it really is a place, I pray they’re serving Guinness
© Copyright 2010 Ian Bland
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