The Chickens' Eyes
© By: Brian Ernest Wakeman

For studying Theology
And maintaining spirituality.

I heard on TV the other night
The wisdom of the 'chicken's eyes':
Foraging for food the function of the right,
The left looking out for threats if wise.
So one eye on the curriculum task
The other assessing the 'enemy's' mask.
Attentive to the text of choice
But ear attuned to that 'other' voice;
Focus on study or applications
But aware of wider Christian obligations;
Experiment with the exposition,
But maintaining Word and Spirit position.
Using this two-eyed vision
May protect a calling and your mission?


I wrote this poem for students training for ministry or the pastorate after watching a British TV programme about the remarkable vision of the chicken.