Somewhere Beyond the Body: Where Life Is Lived in Translucent Language

God designed us to experience human life in a material physical body, using our five senses. He called it good. However, we are also creatures who experience the non-material, non-physical gifts of soul and spirit. Beyond the brain lies the human mind with its ability to think, even abstractly; we can reason and are moral beings. We experience a myriad of emotions while living within relationships with God, ourselves, others, and the world we live in. The Lord also calls this aspect of humanity good. Somewhere Beyond the Body attempts to not only explore the non-material nature of soul and spirit, but challenges at times the current secular notion that humans are just physical beings with higher brain power than other creatures. We even see how the art and craft of poetry reflects this side of our nature.

T. P. Bird is a retired minister in the Wesleyan Church, pastoring churches in New York State, West Virginia, and Virginia. He has published a chapbook, Scenes and Speculations, and a collection, Mystery and Imperfection. He lives with his wife, Sally, in Lexington, Kentucky.