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Good morning. Sometimes it’s helpful to remember that not only saints can provoke us to reflect more profoundly on spiritual truths!

Today is the anniversary of the death of Dylan Thomas – certainly no saint. He reportedly once said that his were ‘poems in praise of God’s world, by a man who doesn’t believe in God.’

Whatever his personal beliefs may or may not have been, he certainly brought in religious imagery as he tackled the big questions of life and death. The title and refrain of his poem ‘And death shall have no dominion’ is taken from St Paul’s letter to the Romans.

Then there is his famous villanelle, with its repeated lines ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’ and ‘rage, rage against the dying of the light’.

Being a parish priest, and dabbling in poetry myself, I’m particularly fond of his character in the radio play, Under Milk Wood, the Reverend Eli Jenkins. His morning praise and sunset poem book-end and circumscribe the waking day of the little mythical town of Llareggub.

It’s a gentle nudge to me to begin and end each day anchored in prayer; and to seek God’s compassionate gaze upon me and everyone else, as I echo the plea that he ‘see our best side, not our worst’.

Whether or not they are people of faith, good poets – indeed, good artists of all sorts – often have a knack of paying deep attention to the way life is, and conveying insights that might otherwise pass us by.

For me, it’s an important reminder that God, who creates all that is, and the spark of whose image is in every human person, can touch us through anyone and everyone.

Dear Lord, help us to recognise you not only in religious contexts, but to be open to encounter you in every walk of life. Amen