Rafts of Religion

A refugee boards a raft

Seeking escape -
Salvation upon a new shore

Yet when land appears

He refuses to leave the raft

That has become his home

His sanctuary

“Why should I leave it?” he questions,

“When it has faithfully kept me safe from harm

and by its accommodation alone

have I progressed thus far.”

So, the man refuses to leave.

The moon rises.

And the ocean swells.

The waves repeatedly propel the raft ashore.

Still the man will not leave.

Night after night

The moon calls to the sea

Who obliges her lover as she rises and falls

Each time, the man frantically paddles away from shore

Until one night

Weary and worn

He gives in

And the sea pitches the raft onto the shore

The man rolls onto his back in the wet sand

And stares into the beaming face of the moon

Soon, the crashing waves take the form

Of a lullaby

And the man surrenders.

He awakens to the sun’s warmth on his face.

Opening his eyes, he sees clearly for the first time,

And recognizes he was slumbering on his original shore -
The only shore that exists.

                                                   ---unAsleep