Philip Larkin's poem 'Solar' from his 1974 collection High Windows has meant a lot to me over the years. As a student, its psalm-like meditation on the sun's apparent munificence seemed to chime with my faith in God's providential care. Reflecting back now with a fuller appreciation of what the unbelieving poet was actually doing with this piece allows a clarity that even more strongly brings home to me the stark contrast between the life of faith and the experience of those without.
You can find Larkin's poem here: https://allpoetry.com/poem/8495653-Solar-by-Philip-Larkin
On
Larkin's Solar
Your
sun blinded me,
That
heraldic metaphor.
The
glow of my faith obscured
How
truly unfurnished
Your
heaven was.
How
you turned each symbol
In
the light like a gold
Coin.
Each face showing now
Glory
now shining
Blank.
I was still in the
Psalms,
mesmerized by that
Blissful
bridegroom, that
Joyous
hero. I still am.
No
angels for you.
That
old Jacob's Ladder
Just
a prop for fond
Projections.
You eyeballed
Truth's
sere singularity
Till
the void appeared
Like
a pupil. Paying your debt
To
beauty alone.
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