by Stephen Paul Wren

Through the tunnel, I go
on a journey that reveals wonders to me 
The wonders are constantly on the move (like operational heart muscles)
The tunnel is the shortcut that takes me to work
The tunnel is two hundred metres long and takes me through a persistent biosis
Worlds within worlds within our world

The path below my feet drops as I walk and I try to appreciate all of the descent
I feel edited and decorated
because a new grip of existence is blowing through me
I notice things for the first time
There are leaves on both sides of me
A multitude of life forms teem here

There is life in the billions of leaf cells 
There is life in all the trees and their bark cells (there are billions of them too)
There is life within my cellular machinery
There is starch stored in the leaf cells
Two flames dart behind my eyes; the photosynthesis that produces glucose in the trees, and my life hanging by genetic threads

There is life within the squirrel that jumps high above me 
There is life in Heaven because God’s works of art (that He shared with us) 
continue living elsewhere 
Along the tunnel path an eternity of synchronous events are in position
Along this path, I learn to let go
of works of art

Gone is the notion that I know anything worth knowing
My understanding of life is minuscule 
compared to the engines that surround life in this world
I glimpse shards of Christ’s wonderful glass
but I want to learn more (and have eternity in which to do so)
There are works of art and eternity waiting 

A cat jumps by some thin branches
This sudden appearance coincides with thoughts around mottos for my existence
I should give my all in this world
I am only here for a visit
I should live each day fully
Strive to be kind

Life as I know it (in this world, and in the tunnel) adjusts
The tunnel is a template for God’s triumphant universe
My heart unwraps in the tunnel
Out of the tunnel I go
The tunnel is His laboratory
He can make anything

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Dr Stephen Paul Wren was educated at Cambridge and worked as an industrial chemist before transitioning back into academia at Oxford. He joined Kingston University in September 2018 where he works as a Senior lecturer. Stephen’s poetry can be read here.

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