I wrote the following poem in response to a Catholic philosophy professor, who insisted that the human libido was "evil." I argued that romantic attraction between soul-mates could also motivate spiritual growth and learning. My theory is that his and my differences in opinion were based on some past-life karma we must share -- such as Heloise and Peter Abelard, a Catholic theologian castrated by Heloise's uncle for having a passionate affair while they were a monk and nun. (If that happened to me, I might be reborn with a hang-up or two about sexuality!) In my case, however, I seem doomed, once again, to become a nun again in this lifetime, if I keep up this kind of karma! In the meantime, I'll either rewrite these verses as a song, a sonnet, or a post-doctoral thesis on past-life soul-mates and sin reincarnated for the purpose of annoying future generations.
After Abelard, Before Heloise
Challenge to a Christian Logician
I wonder if clever Aristotle
Ever fumbled a baby bottle
In the dark of night, while the infant cried,
Only to hear those cries subside
At the breast of a mother nursing her child
To the tune of a runic lullaby.
I ask the world's astrologers
Who map the heavens above:
How many of your philosophers
Have ever been in love?
I also wonder if Thomas Aquinas
Ever pondered or stopped to define as
Simple a concept as "cuddly" or "cute"
Beyond what scholars could refute!
Go ask the great astronomers
Who count the stars and such:
How many Saints could quantify
The impact of a woman's touch?
Some critics pick on feminists,
Saying they need a "good night kiss."
When I read books as dry as this,
I wonder whose point is being missed!
If, after Einstein, mass is proved
Energy more slowly moved,
There is no need to separate
Thought from motion, Church from State,
Jew from Gentile, God from truth,
Earth from Heaven, faith from proof.
Natural laws and fate are one,
And that's my "Summa Contra None."
If my words you understand,
You're worthy to be called a man;
Or, better yet, profess my fault
To prove you're worth your Mass in salt!
