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This poem is taken from PN Review 42, Volume 11 Number 4, March - April 1985.

Agape D.J. Enright

motion: That lightning did strike York Minster, destroying by
fire the South Transept.

argument: That through divine intercession the firemen were
enabled to save all but the South Transept.

dissent: That God was displeased concerning the appointment
of a new Bishop of Durham.

rebuttal: That the Lord does not react in petty human fashion;
also, as the Archbishop of York confirms, we do not live in
biblical times.

interruption: And why not, may I ask?

question: Why did God not strike Durham Cathedral? Is it
suggested that His aim is uncertain?

answer: In His mysterious way He reveals that He moves in a
mysterious way.

question: Though less mysterious, would it not have been more
to the point to strike down Arthur Scargill?
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