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.

Yesterday was O-bon, one of several Shinto festivals that grace the Japanese calendar.

That, in itself, is not a particularly interesting fact, except insofar as it motivated my choice of today’s poem. You see, one of the motifs of the O-bon celebration is the purity and power of water, and I got to thinking about how so many religions do, in fact, use water as part of their litany, as a ‘furious devout drench’. From Holi in India to O-bon to the Christian baptism ceremony, water (with all its attendant symbolism) has a central role in many rituals and beliefs.

Interesting and thought-provoking, but what does it have to do with poetry? Not much, I’m afraid :-)

— Thomas

PS. In case you thought this was free verse, do note the rhythm of the stressesthe effect is to build up to a quiet yet definite conclusion with wonderfully restrained elegance.