The Empires of Things

A poem by Catherine Bird, inspired by God’s People and the Seduction of Empire by Graham Turner and written during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We finally see the empires of things
for what they are;
purveyors of half truths
at best –
viral,
clogging the lungs of those
smaller kingdoms of kindness
that are our true breath.

This great death reveals one hope,
and one hope only – 
that we, exiles from joy,
will now settle
in that land of promise
which has thus far in eternity
been mistook for folly.

Related books

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God’s People and the Seduction of Empire: Hearing God’s call in the modern age

Graham Turner, Michael Woolcock

An accessible, radical and rare example of the vitality and relevance of both the Old and New Testaments.

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Author

Catherine Bird

Having previously worked in social policy and research in the voluntary sector, Cathy was ordained as a Presbyter in the Methodist Church in 1997. A Londoner to the core, she has worked in Tottenham, Kings Cross, and Marylebone (where she also served as part of the ecumenical Chaplaincy Team at...

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