Discovery

I heard a reading of this poem on the radio last week and thought it was one I'd like to share. The poet Ventriloquist's MySpace page can be found here

A Letter from God to PanHey Pan
How's it going?
Long time no see
This is kind of awkward, but I think I owe you an apology
I recently wrote to Man, discussing his disregard of nature
And I thought, I couldn't really leave you out, funny, guess it makes ya
Think about things, you know the order of us Gods
I know I've been the big man, but I do feel sorry for all you sods
Who had a role, each representing an element of existence
And when I got promoted I didn't put up any resistance
I thought I could handle it, like a heavenly president
But like the human system, the failure is more than evident
So I'm writing to acknowledge, the role you used to play
And apologise for your transformation & the price you had to pay

I was just a nipper when you were at the height of your powers
I heard stories about you, would sit and listen for hours
God of nature, flocks, mountain wilds and rustic music
Your appetite for sexual adventure was legendary & you'd use it
To remind people of their animal nature, their place in the scheme of things,
I know when people worshiped you, they hadn't yet heard of sins
You were important to shepherds, which is why you're half man, half goat
Funny how your horns remained in that book that men wrote
I remember you loved singing, dancing and partying in nature
It really doesn't make any sense why men began to hate ya
Well, maybe it does if you think about how much power women had
When you look at the early Hebrew teachers, their attitude was pretty bad
Whereas you loved to play with women and men in equal measure
The founders of Christianity thought women didn't deserve pleasure
They thought shame was born with every woman, men couldn't handle their own desires
They ran from your free spirit while you danced naked around fires

There were too many gods and you had an element of danger
I guess you roamed too free my friend so they made you a stranger
After the bloke on the cross had some admirable ideas
Those who interpreted his teachings seemed to be gripped by fears
Of forbidden this, and shameful that and gradually they turned against you
The more time passed, your reputation grew worse, they'd paint you
As the bad guy, the horned one who raised hell
Me I got promotion and at my feet all the praise fell

I know you stuck around for as long as you could
Still engendering that feeling of fear and wildness in the wood
In the field, on the mountain and in wide open spaces
Humans still use the word Panic, so you still leave traces
But once the church had grown to the Holy Roman Empire
It was only a matter of time before your funeral pire
As they wrapped you up in stories, changed your name and your purpose
Anywhere you showed your face, it was like being at the circus
Satan this, the Devil that, then calling your followers witches
No-one could have predicted the insanity that spread, the stitches
Of your reputation unpicked for all to see
Millions of people were burned because they didn't worship me

I guess you were god of animal and that wasn't enough any more
They wanted something supernatural & that's what I was invented for
One God, to rule them all, made in the image of man
But Gods only exist as long as people believe in us..damn
I just didn't see it coming, now less and less people believe in me
Because they are beginning to realise that they invented me
My powers are waning because I'm only the God of Man
Without you, I'm not strong enough, you're the God of Nature, Pan.

I've still got a few tricks left up my sleeve, I'm giving things a shake up
People need to re-evaluate their place, they need to wake up
They've forgotten they're all actually made of the same stuff
And that being locked in a human frame of reference isn't enough
People are doing some interesting research into nature's building blocks
They might just realise yet that they are the shepherd and the flocks
They are the rivers they're polluting, they are the tarmac too
They are every God they've ever -worshiped, which means they're also you.