the God I know
is male as our primate minds
understand maleness. not sexless
as amoebae know immortality
in division, or even both sexes
jumbled in a mosaic
like a snail. No, we shape God
into our own image and limit
Him to him, one gender
assigned to One who shaped two
or both
or none.
do we forget
a goddess might be fearless
& full of compassion
for all things
or be spent once
in violent universe-birthing
her body shattered to stars
in droplets of matter
spreading outwards
in a vacuum–
if there was sound
at creation
her cry is too far from our ears now
to hear anything
but echoes of it
hummed in stone
sometimes
she is the mother of god
or the lover, the divine eve to an adam
without falling
& sometimes
she dances on the edge of war
ravenous
her necklace of skulls
beads rattling together music
as she swallows life
in chunks torn bleeding
from the bones
Susan Daniels Poetry 
I really like the imagery of that last stanza very strong
Thank you, Bruce. No idea where this one came from, but it was fun to write.
f there was sound
at creation
her cry is too far from our ears now
to hear anything
but echoes of it
hummed in stone
I imagine her voice -the sound of her creating- to be the “big bang.” If we can’t hear her could we nevertheless know she is there by looking upon her works?
Yes–I believe we would see some fingerprints somewhere.
now, if god was a woman, i might feel inclined to believe in her
or at least pray/flirt one in a while 😉
at least i wouldn’t feel so bad at the thought that god was watching me when i masturbated
Oh my, had not thought of that…
I’d say your logic is flawed here Kyle…If God were male, he may well sit upon his throne feeling proud of you, his son, as your found pleasure in your own maleness, as much as any proud father would feel for any child who does something well. Whereas, if God were a woman, she may well be thinking “Is THAT what I gave that to you for? Is THAT the only thing you can think to do? You’d rather do THAT than play with this awesome technological creation I’ve called Playstation? Seriously? So…I’m thinking you may want to believe, that if God were real, he would be a man. The alternative is a bitch!
LOL, Rhonda!
so you say rhonda, i tend to think She’d be rather kinky, and hopefully hot too
She is what She is Kyle.
A poetic depiction of God and the Creation. Loved it a lot !!!
thanks, GS–appreciate your commenting, as always.
You’v convinced me. We probably need to get rid of this god we’re used to and get a better one, then.
I am not sure if we need a better god or better people.
Well we can change the god more quickly and easily, I guess.
Know what–you’re RIGHT!
I love the contrasting images of a masculine and feminine God. You contrast these sooooo well! It is also very thought-provoking! 🙂
Oh, thank you! Something that has been floating around in my head for a while.
I liked this poem very much, the way it is constructed is convincing because it combines both cerebral and passionate thinking, suitable for the theme I think.
Cristina–thank you! Yes–I think any speculation about divinity has to include those two things–mind, heart; and a third, less quantifiable thing, spirit–whatever we define that as 🙂
Incredible imagery!
Mama, thank you!
Love. Got chills at thinking what her cry would sound like at creation. Beautiful beyond words no doubt. 🙂 The most beautiful sound ever made? Oh gosh, now it is hummed in stone…I am happy. Love it Susan!
-jennifer
Oh, Jennifer–thanks so very much! Glad you liked.
Interesting… my spirituality follows closely what Sue Monk Kidd outlined in Dance of the Dissident Daughter. so close in fact, when I read her words, she touched on experiences from my life, and it set off goosebumps.
The story of Adam and a rib always annoyed me. Perhaps 20 billion births on this world over a few million years, and men try to claim the first, a been there done that sort of thing where they then claim to turn it over to women there on after. I don’t buy it. 🙂
🙂 Nelle–that’s one I am not familiar with, and you have me curious now. Will have to check her out. Know what you mean about that rib…grrr!
It’s non-fiction, written before Bees. My original copy ended up in Finland. 🙂 The person who received it read it twice and claimed it should be required reading by all women, rofl.
Sue used to write for Christian magazines. Over time, she felt uncomfortable with her faith, and began these slow explorations of spirituality and herself. It’s a superb chronicle of her journey, and so much of it touched my spiritual track. The title is quite apt.
She also wrote a book with her daughter, Travelling with Pomegranates, in which they take turns sharing perspectives as they toured spiritually significant places around the Mediterranean.
http://www.suemonkkidd.com/DanceOfTheDissidentDaughter/Conversation.aspx
I am going to have to check that out–thanks for the name & titles 🙂
She is capable of oh so much! And if only for that — for the immense potentiality in her flowing form and passionate willful purpose — it would be wise to acknowledge her. And respect her being.
George–your comment is gorgeous! And we should.
Thanks for the movie and the impressive music 🙂
Thank you–hope you got some popcorn, too!
I have always deplored that idea of God as a he because God is beyond gender, race, skin color. The Hebrews even fear saying His name. It’s our small minds that put a face, a gender, a color on this divine being. Having read my share of greek and indian mythology, I have come to an appreciate of the ways in which us humans are inventive about the divine and this is a true statement to that.
Thanks for this!
Yes, Joe–I agree that God is beyond any gender we might assign 🙂
As always, love your comments–thanking you for your feedback!
Wow. Powerful. Is God a male or a female? The Ga people in my country refer to Him in both male and female terms, more of haemophroditic terms, but with dignity.
I think that would be the wise thing to do–God is beyond our idea of gender, I think.