There is a carving, whittled by skeletal hand

and conceived of by a man angry with God

that sits beyond Time and the whistle

of a train carrying death.

I echo those thoughts, even as an atheist,

I repeat the philosophy

daily, not out of spite, not out of fear

and retribution by those seeking revenge,

just honesty,

that if there is a God,

for the wrongs done in her name,

the next time we meet,

she had better apologise.

Ian D. Hall 2017