This past weekend I was browsing with some friends at a local Barnes & Noble. One a shelf with staff recommendations there was a book of poems entitled "Crow" by Ted Hughes. I picked it up and was astounded at the depth and imagery Hughes used in his writing. This short collection, though made up of a few dozen poems, reads as a collective effort, evolving the character of crow as something opposite of God, but all the while a creature you want to read about and understand how he became the way he is. Hughes expressions of mankind's relation to God, good and evil, and human nature are interesting. Consider this, my favorite poem in the book so far.
"A Childish Prank"
Man's and woman's bodies lay without souls,
Dully gaping, foolishly staring, inert
On the flower of Eden.
God pondered.
The problem was so great, it dragged him asleep.
Crow laughed.
He bit the Worm, God's only son,
Into two writhing halves.
He stuffed into man the tail half
With the wounded end hanging out.
He stuffed the head half headfirst into woman
And it crept in deeper and up
To peer out through her eyes
Calling it's tail-half to join up quickly, quickly
Because O it was painful.
Man awoke being dragged across the grass.
Woman awoke to see him coming.
Neither knew what had happened.
God went on sleeping.
Crow went on laughing.
Hmm. Interesting, is it not? And as clarification, as I post certain things that may seem "contrary" to Christian values, it is only because I feel it pertinent to not only be aware of other's perspectives, but to know them inside and out to understand why a person attaches to that belief. Only when one understand's another's perspective can they help them. What good does it serve to cater only to your own perspective, besides fostering a sense of...well...you get the picture. Understand others, help others. Understand yourself, help yourself.
Now that that's out of the way, I welcome any interpretations or reactions to the above piece.
