the premier theologian for existential angst
led me on a long pursuit
around second-hand bookshops
hunting for sermons that shook the foundations
that spoke of an earth split in pieces
of nature’s hidden voices
its tragic melodies
its songs of hope.

Declining offers of coffee
in a world where Amazon
was just a glint in Jeff’s eye
I doubted their very existence
wandering numerous cramped aisles of possibility
but yielding no results.

Then perseverance reaped her rewards
when in a bookshop now lost to memory
I purchased “The Shaking of the Foundations”
an unassuming volume in pelican blue
for thirty pence

But my pride and joy
were balloons to be quickly burst
reminders of the ugliness in all of humanity
when just like buses
I soon found three more

copyright ashyvicar November 19th 2025