The Unbeliever

I came to mourn

Not to believe

Not to chant, or to pray

Simply to mourn

As a sign of respect to my friend

Not to disrespect, or prevent

But that does not seem enough to you

You note my presence by my not praying, not kneeling

You look behind at me like an open sewer

An unbeliever, a blasphemer

Instantly unwelcome

No words to go

But the eyes say leave

The eyes say go

As if my lack of faith were a contagion

Spread by the lies I speak

But I won’t go anywhere

I am not here for you

But for my friend

A person of kindness and love

Someone who never took stock of the scorecards of faith

A true believer

Unlike you, you who profess so loud

Yet in the end

Do not act like the carpenter

The simple scion of your faith

Shame on you all

To Engineers

Put your faith in us

That the bridge will hold

That the light will turn on

That the engine will fire

That the wing will work

Faith in the minds of men

Faith in the laws of physics

Faith in the mundaneness of  the everyday

But faith none the less