‘Argument from Design’ and Other Poetry by Graal Braun

Argument from Design

God’s antelopes have eyes placed far to side
And horizontal pupils, features they
Employ to see wide spans and speed away
From lurking predators they’ve easily spied.

But carnivores, with eyes in front of face
And pupils vertical, see straight ahead,
Are sharply focused on the beast that’s fled,
Their eyes like beams throughout the deadly chase.

So, one can dodge a death, the other, slay —
With eyes to spot a foe or trail a dinner,
The losers steak or back to pride still thinner.
But why is each equipped opposing ways?

Such subtlety arouses my suspicion
That God’s a sportsman, not a kind optician.

High Mindedness

Our hunters, armed with guns and bows,
Go forth to thin the numerous deer —
So none will starve, we’re to suppose,
Though that lie causes me to sneer.

To jocks karate isn‘t play;
It’s paths to dignity and peace;
But then they show a better way
To kick out other people’s teeth.

The  columnist of etiquette
Enjoys, no doubt, her role as prude,
For then she can without regret
Describe with relish what is crude.

In Hollywood the films released
Reveal directors’ pious stance:
See Christ made gruesome gore by priests
And Sodom’s harlots belly dance.

Graal Braun:  I am a male (my first name often con fuses people), a retired English teacher. My poems have appeared in a number of journals, and I have won a few prizes here and there.

These poems are among the entries for the Society of Classical Poets’ 2012 Poetry Competition.