When Brevity Is The Soul Of Avoidance

I live in the land of saints and scholars
where reading and being well read
were once deemed to be important,
and yet I am often surprised
at the survival of a pamphlet culture.

The  subject that the pamphlet/leaflet
covers most is always The Gospel,
where inarticulate and singular 
late middle aged men, stand on corners
in central Belfast and silently give out tracts
to passers-by which urge the reader
to 'consider eternity' and 'seek to be saved'.

Admonishing scriptures also appear
on advertising hoardings of buses.

I understand how belief shades into worry
about how are we to be neighbours to each other
in a world  where in public places 
people appear to not look out for each other?
We are all 'just passing through'...

I would engage with them more
if whoever gave out the pamphlets
could explain to individuals who asked
in conversational and jargon free terms
what their salvation means to them.

Then the recipients of the pamphlets
would know what to be saved from,
and what the saved see themselves saved for.