Humanist Voices in Verse: “The Ontological Argument”

This week’s poem is by Neil Doherty. He is an economist and professor emeritus from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He has recently moved cross country to Bainbridge Island where he indulges his passion for poetry, hiking, and a 1951 Morris Minor car.


 

 

The Ontological Argument

1. WHY GOD EXISTS … (St. Anselm)

Imagine for me, if only you dare,
a being so perfect beyond compare.
But wait, you ask, “If you be so kind,
it may not exist; it’s only in mind.”
But, if that be so, it lacks perfection;
the being that is, is the better conception.
So here is the answer, as now you can see,
the most perfect being cannot, not be.

2. WHY ELVIS IS ALIVE

Imagine for me, if only you dare
a singer so perfect beyond compare
But wait, you ask, “If you be so kind,
He may not still live, he’s only in mind.”
But, if that be so, he lacks perfection;
the singer that lives, is the better conception.
So here is the answer, as now you can see,
the most perfect singer being cannot, not be.