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SOMEBODY
ELSE’S IDEA
of salvation is
exactly
what I don’t want to
hear about
right now. And it’s not
just that I know it’s
not
likely to include
me. Have you heard,
my friend asks, the
story about
the horses at nightfall? Or the one
where we’re lost in the
forest?
Of course I realize it’s easier
to get into any
heaven you’ve made
up for yourself, that
the whole point
of religion is that
it isn’t
whatever you happen to need
at the moment. Somebody tells you,
because somebody
knows. That’s why
there are rules. Maybe consequences
will occur, my friend
suggests,
which we can’t foresee,
creating
conditions we may find
ourselves
powerless to control. These days
who can tell? So there we are,
out in the weather,
out in the cold.
And yes, I’d say it seems
to have some
punishment in mind.