God's Subtlety

God’s Subtlety

They say God beckonsinstead of pushing,that he knocksrather than barging in,so when I long for himI turn off the radio and listenfor the still, small voice.

But sometimes I tireof taking the initiative.Just once, I’d like to be overwhelmed,to be takenas by a loveror an ocean wave.

I want somethingnot to quell this restlessnessbut to reward it,not to quench the thirst to knowbut to be fully satisfiedeven while not understanding.

It couldn’t last, of course,if the old stories are to be believed,and what I’d glimpse would be,at best, God’s backside.All the difficulties of interpretationto occupy the rest of my life —and the memory of that tumble.

The Other One

You didn’t always like himbut he was comprehensible,which, in the end, rendered himinadequate.

You wanted to live without liesbut that didn’t help youto know the truth.

You wanted to livein the world as it was,no one’s flashlightchoosing your path for you,

yet what’s more artificialthan the meanings you invented?

There’s no resurrectingthe other one,who was a protectionagainst the onewho was too large,too inexplicable.

Still, something insiststhere is a god you did not invent.Just because you want it to be truedoesn’t mean it isn’t.