Some deity clipped her toenails today and left one dangling, suspended from a trace of cloud. It is perfectly rounded, and I am worried for her— you’re really supposed to cut these things straight across or else they might grow inward instead of projecting out.
Lisa, when I first quickly read your poem without the prpompt, I though "oh my, we have to write a poem about toenails. Since feet and toes are not my best feature, I cringed. Fortunately, I kept reading. And two poems emerged, one perhaps a bit more irreverent than the other, but both ring true to me.
Dog God
^
I always knew that God
was Dog spelled backwards.
And that God must be ready
to welcome me home,
face licks and whirling roundabouts,
excited face and chew toy ready,
gleeful with anticipation
and caring less about the rigors of the day
Boundlessly joyful and unconditionally loving,
And always wordlessly asking
“wanna take a walk?”
God escapes the building
^
The God I first met was trapped inside the building,
constantly angry and continuously judging
every action against an impossible measure.
This God the Father looked like many of the fathers I knew,
distant and unapproachable, dour and grim,
hair trigger temper and fiery anger
and never quite satisfied.
Somehow we were the ones to blame.
^
The inevitable questions came
like where did all of the animals sleep on the boat?
Or how does God fit in that little wafer?
The answers came in three varieties:
“God did not like that question, Larry.”
“God is very angry with you, Larry.”
“Questions like that will get you into hell, Larry.”
I love both of you poems, Larry, and I'm utterly smitten by the image of a canine god, loving us, kissing us, always ready to welcome us home, always eager to join us for a walk. I'm going to keep that one safe inside me to pull up in a moment when I need it!
I love both of these poems, Larry! I like how in "God Escapes the Building" you bring back the playfulness of "Dog God" by letting God outside to "romp in the sweet scent of earth" and escape all human-constructed masquerades. I also chuckled over "God did not like that question, Larry." :)
I love this Rebekah! I really like the progression of your comprehension and understanding of God--and how you end up with "like the mountains." That is a powerful description and as good as I've heard!
Very powerful, Billy. The group "The Many" of the Plural Guild project has a tremendous song "Forsakenand" and your poem broiught that song to mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98yde4gMHCI
My nail broke just before I read this poem and I’m sitting in the airport with no way to fix it in the moment, and then your poem has a goddess with a badly trimmed nail. I think of my higher power as the connections between me and all the other beings and pieces of the universe. A bit of synchronicity. Definitely an inner indefinable something.
Love your poem! Playful indeed. I think part of being free in life is realizing that it is fundamentally play. If you think of it as work, you can’t help but feel it’s a drag, and that limits you.
I love it - both the cheekiness and the insightfulness! "To grab this life by the horns /
and live it / for God's sake" is particularly marvelous. And I am 100% with you on play . . . that it's not a nice little thing to tuck into the folds of our life but, rather, than it can and maybe should be the fabric of the whole damn thing.
Thanks for reading! Yes, why not imagine life as a great play? Ancient Hindu myths and Shakespeare agree on this. Yes, there are tough things in life, and there are real people with real feelings, but it’s still like a play. One big flash of consciousness. Let’s make the most of it!
Yes, Epic indeed. God really is everything. You could list forever and not express all that God is. We’re part of it all. I love the Macaulay Culkin line! Nice work.
This is a wonderfully epic poem, Mike. Beth Nielsen Chapman has a wonderful song called "God is in (Goddess is)" which seems in line with your powerful poem. It would be exhilirating to use your poem as a discussion starter, especially for those of us trying to understand whaty spirtiuality might mean in our own lives. Thank you for writing and sharing! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEzq2tuo1Rs
This is a stunningly beautiful poem, Lisa. The beginning with the divine feminine clipping their toenails to the face of an angry God is remarkably creative and insightful. Your well of genius and inspiration is deep and wide. Thank You Lisa.
For clarification since I didn’t make it clear, Inanna was the Sumerian goddess who became the most powerful god, who became known as Ishtar with the Akkadians.
It is difficult to get academics to come to any consensus because history is muddled. We cannot even get people to agree on what they see in front of them in current real time. However, some argue that Inanna helped inspire the ideas about Aphrodite, Isis, Asherah—wife of El, the original of Israel—and many more.
I recognize that this site is not a political site so I’ll shut up.
I will give you all I got.
But you gotta give me something to eat.
I am a hungry and tired and scared
streetdog named grace.
4 lines. Very powerful.
“A street dog named grace.” So loaded with meaning and depth. Nice work, Chuck!
Thank you, larry
a clip from a short story im fiddling with (stuck in) about grace as a junkyard dog instead of God's all smiley fairy dust.
Like Larry, I adore the line (and idea) of a "streetdog named grace." I'd love to read the short story if you ever want a place to share it!
I like it!
Lisa, when I first quickly read your poem without the prpompt, I though "oh my, we have to write a poem about toenails. Since feet and toes are not my best feature, I cringed. Fortunately, I kept reading. And two poems emerged, one perhaps a bit more irreverent than the other, but both ring true to me.
Dog God
^
I always knew that God
was Dog spelled backwards.
And that God must be ready
to welcome me home,
face licks and whirling roundabouts,
excited face and chew toy ready,
gleeful with anticipation
and caring less about the rigors of the day
Boundlessly joyful and unconditionally loving,
And always wordlessly asking
“wanna take a walk?”
God escapes the building
^
The God I first met was trapped inside the building,
constantly angry and continuously judging
every action against an impossible measure.
This God the Father looked like many of the fathers I knew,
distant and unapproachable, dour and grim,
hair trigger temper and fiery anger
and never quite satisfied.
Somehow we were the ones to blame.
^
The inevitable questions came
like where did all of the animals sleep on the boat?
Or how does God fit in that little wafer?
The answers came in three varieties:
“God did not like that question, Larry.”
“God is very angry with you, Larry.”
“Questions like that will get you into hell, Larry.”
I reckoned I rather not meet that God
in a dark alley.
^
Through it all there was a glimmer,
a quiet sense between the dogma,
that God could escape the sanctuary,
romp in the sweet scent of earth,
glide with me upon the waters,
lead the way to where beauty lives
and children safely sing and play.
^
No matter all of the masquerades
they tried to dress God up in,
That tender spark of love was there,
Tinkerbell like,
always reminding me
there was much more to the story.
I love both of you poems, Larry, and I'm utterly smitten by the image of a canine god, loving us, kissing us, always ready to welcome us home, always eager to join us for a walk. I'm going to keep that one safe inside me to pull up in a moment when I need it!
Thank you Lisa’. Having spent the day with our grand dog, I agree even more with the notion!
I love both of these poems, Larry! I like how in "God Escapes the Building" you bring back the playfulness of "Dog God" by letting God outside to "romp in the sweet scent of earth" and escape all human-constructed masquerades. I also chuckled over "God did not like that question, Larry." :)
Thank you Rebekah! Sadly, I heard those 3 things and more in our church school classes. Even then, it did not make sense to me!
Great poem Larry. Much more to the story indeed.
Thank you Billy!
In the beginning
I perceived Him
.
as kind
like my grandpa, only
grizzled
like Santa, only
firm
like my father, only
wise
like my mother, only
male
like my brother, only
feeling
like the others, only
old
like the mountains
.
Then only
.
like the mountains
like the mountains
like the mountains
like the mountains
.
as the Mountains.
The ending made me gasp aloud. Yes, yes, yes to this beautiful poem!
Like.
Can I share this with some folks????
Thanks Chuck! And sure thing.
I love this Rebekah! I really like the progression of your comprehension and understanding of God--and how you end up with "like the mountains." That is a powerful description and as good as I've heard!
Gethsemane
My God
My God
Why have you forsaken me?
I am walking through this world
Looking for you
In everything I see
Listening for that
Still
Small
Voice
Is it just the wind?
A whisper?
In your place
They install
CCTV cameras
These little gods
That watch
That see everything
Always and forever
They are the word
They are the truth
They are becoming the way
The law that we wrote
Based on your commandments
Is no longer based on You
It has become you
God may be love
But God is dead
And the law is now most certainly our god
And in this time
In these moments
That could be heaven
The best we’ve ever seen
We’ve put cameras and laws
In place of love
In place of kindness
In place of patience
And so we have separated ourselves again
Can you see paradise from your vantage?
It was within our reach
Our Tower of Babel
Recording every moment
Of the Hell we slowly built
Forgive them Lord
For they know not what they do
We've certainly built up plenty of Babels in our world! I feel so much longing and anguish in your poem, Billy. 💔❤️
Very powerful, Billy. The group "The Many" of the Plural Guild project has a tremendous song "Forsakenand" and your poem broiught that song to mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98yde4gMHCI
A fan of the many & their "laments" they would zoom.
Me too, Chuck! They are a wonderful band and they were so essential as we navigated these completely virtual days of the pandemic.
Thanks for the song. Very powerful and thought provoking.
My nail broke just before I read this poem and I’m sitting in the airport with no way to fix it in the moment, and then your poem has a goddess with a badly trimmed nail. I think of my higher power as the connections between me and all the other beings and pieces of the universe. A bit of synchronicity. Definitely an inner indefinable something.
I love this! Maybe YOU are my deity, LeeAnn!? Like you, I think of my higher power as being the web of interconnection that links us all.
And you are mine too!
Watching you two empower and encourage each other is beautiful!
We know not, don't we.
(Or we just don't give a shit)
Well done.
Nice poem Lisa and great commentary. I love the photo too.
Thank you, Billy! And what a treat to see you on here!
Wow Lisa!
Thank you, Mahdi!
Love your poem! Playful indeed. I think part of being free in life is realizing that it is fundamentally play. If you think of it as work, you can’t help but feel it’s a drag, and that limits you.
Well, in this case I think I have the perfect extant poem. I do enjoy this one I wrote. It’s a little cheeky, but it does reflect my journey from hardline atheist to…well, whatever this is: https://open.substack.com/pub/mikesperiosu/p/god-is-not-a-thing?r=286g6m&utm_medium=ios
I love it - both the cheekiness and the insightfulness! "To grab this life by the horns /
and live it / for God's sake" is particularly marvelous. And I am 100% with you on play . . . that it's not a nice little thing to tuck into the folds of our life but, rather, than it can and maybe should be the fabric of the whole damn thing.
Thanks for reading! Yes, why not imagine life as a great play? Ancient Hindu myths and Shakespeare agree on this. Yes, there are tough things in life, and there are real people with real feelings, but it’s still like a play. One big flash of consciousness. Let’s make the most of it!
Yes, Epic indeed. God really is everything. You could list forever and not express all that God is. We’re part of it all. I love the Macaulay Culkin line! Nice work.
Hahaha thanks!
This is a wonderfully epic poem, Mike. Beth Nielsen Chapman has a wonderful song called "God is in (Goddess is)" which seems in line with your powerful poem. It would be exhilirating to use your poem as a discussion starter, especially for those of us trying to understand whaty spirtiuality might mean in our own lives. Thank you for writing and sharing! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEzq2tuo1Rs
This is a stunningly beautiful poem, Lisa. The beginning with the divine feminine clipping their toenails to the face of an angry God is remarkably creative and insightful. Your well of genius and inspiration is deep and wide. Thank You Lisa.
Thank you so much, my magnanimous friend!
You are welcome, Lisa. I am a part of the new MagNa movement!
🤣
Love the story of Inanna. She was flawed but interesting. Loved Greek Mythology at an early age. Never liked mean spirited god of Abraham.
I was really drawn to Greek mythology as a kid, too!
For clarification since I didn’t make it clear, Inanna was the Sumerian goddess who became the most powerful god, who became known as Ishtar with the Akkadians.
It is difficult to get academics to come to any consensus because history is muddled. We cannot even get people to agree on what they see in front of them in current real time. However, some argue that Inanna helped inspire the ideas about Aphrodite, Isis, Asherah—wife of El, the original of Israel—and many more.
I recognize that this site is not a political site so I’ll shut up.
Back to poetry to calm election anxiety.
Me too 💞