God is a Metaphor ... With All Due Respect

God is a Metaphor

erupting with fingering phrases

glissando winds ripple limbs

frisson rises in all those places

dawn's sun breaks and swims 

how can i think what God is?

newly fallen snow, fresh kill 

heat steams wavering over

shaded rooms like  a poet's quill

enlighten corners like no other

how can i say who God is?

tuck and rolled white-red leather

the clouds lay cotton in the valleys and

in a faceless place the eyes are a trema

prickly pare cactus bleeds bended knees

how can i see where God is?

immovable and curdled milk senses

mixed in whiskeyrum tumblers 

ice hiccup clinking glass  ..... a 

frenetic lens

 ....and

stippled integrity ...and 

icy fingers probing the most difficult; 

forcing open brittle parchment

peering

loving parts i will not admit

God is a metaphor

With all due respect

Author's Note

Reviews

[Beren]

please don't let any of my family members see me comment on this poem...
i love how every thought about god is so poetic, except for people who believe blindly. shouldn't god be something deeper? even in philosophy 101 we see this "what do we think god is? an omnipotent, perfect, flawless being. this belief alone is enough for god to exist" they say. ok but who is he?
heaven and hell are inside us, so is god.

perfectly written sir. when people ask me why I'm agnostic, I ask permission to have this poem printed on my t-shirt to show them.
nice to discover you

[Einstein Noodle]

well ... i dont know about the t-shirt but i am truly humbled and pleased at the request ... i am not agnostic :) but since you believe, at least in part, is within us ... i think perhaps you are not either ... i think you hit on the gist of this one .. we are unable to put into words who God is .. we try and fail miserably .. and yes! i agree ... we do carry both heaven and hell inside of us .. what counts is which side we feed more ;) love on ya and thanks again for choosing this one to review .. I will meet you on your streets ... peace and joy, Ms. Beren :)
E.
ps ... i was afraid to post the title for fear people would think it blasphemous .. my hope upon reading thoughts will run in another direction

[Beren]

You write about God fearlessly but afraid of humans… might be the hell you fed.

“ I will meet you on your streets ” woah
You wrote poetry in your comment! So pleased about this, it’s my pleasure!

[Einstein Noodle]

i'll have to think on that ;))

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Given I am more prone to science than mythology I guess the title drew me in straight away. And indeed if we contemplate, as a poet might, seeking answers, and there are many things that make us doubt the existence of such a commanding, all powerful 'wizard'. Stephen Hawking even in his end days maintained his faith in science. Me I believe we are still flat earthers and so very primitive still. We understand, even in human terms, so little of where we are and what context we exist. Science provides a comfort blanket for our ignorance and feels, to many, more certain than 'old wives tales'. Yet we are still 'Flat Earthers' and there is an endless void out there with many more startling things to reveal. You capture in this questioning, reasonable voice just such questions as the poem uses some provocation to slay the reader. Very worthy.

[Einstein Noodle]

Thanks John .. thank you for sharing your own personal perspectives on Science and God the Creator .. for me they are hand in hand ..but Science has to leave off at the line of mystery eh!? i think you are so right about our knowledge, wisdom and understanding of things .. to me its the inquisitive mind and tenacious desire for truth that can bring us all together .. which kind of brings us to the question of whether or not there is absolute truth .. for me it is undeniable .. so glad the title drew you in .. that's really good to know .. I hesitated on it a bit as I considered readers might jump to conclusions because of it ..and simply not read on .. its my joy that you did sir .. thank you!
E.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

You are most welcome big 'E'. I have to apologise for the title of my recent post lol!

[Einstein Noodle]

oh...now i have to go see ;)))))))

[Laz K.]

I read and reread this poem a few times. And then peeked at some of the many-many commenst. It is almost hopeless for me to say anything new. I can only join the ones before me saying, "Well-done!"
Like so many of the reviewers, I find the title interesting, and thought-provoking. It also makes me want to have a great argument about it. Or write a poem about it. Or just "swallow it" keep it inside, and digest it till it becomes a part of me.

[Einstein Noodle]

ahahaha ".... makes me want to have a great argument about it." ;) i used that title with trepidation Laz ... wondered it that alone would turn people away from reading ... i'm humbled this affected you in such a way ... i think of the names given to God in the Jewish Faith ... defining aspects of our Creator .. one referring to the "All" ... the alpha and omega .. and not spoken in the awe and presence of such power and glory ... we being such tiny peanuts eh!? thanks so much for reviewing .. and that the title drew you is great news for me. thanks again my friend
E.

[Ankita Dwivedi]

What a fearless and beautiful poetry you have shared here. To be honest, few words were a little hard for me to comprehend, but I certainly learnt a lot. Faith should give asylum to tolerance and so should God. It is truly dependent on an individual to think what is real. I don't know if God is a metaphor or something real but if he/she was real all he/she would want was love and happiness.
Love, Ankita:)

[Einstein Noodle]

well...the very best we have falls far short of God eh!? what a treat that you chose to read this one Ankita ... i love how you put it "Faith should give asylum to tolerance..." God is love and the highest form of acceptance .... true forgiveness ... the kind that truly does not remember failings once dealt with ... you bring up an interesting point on reality .. and on love and happiness ;) thank you so very much for choosing to read this one and for your generous comments and thoughts .. its important eh!? ;)
E.

[Ankita Dwivedi]

yeah , it is .needless, sir.
Ankita :)

[Dennis Shanaberg]

Beautiful use of language.
Love some of the unique vocabulary that you used.
Definitely well describes the enormity of creation whether made by a deity or not

[Einstein Noodle]

i don't usually do form stuff ... but needed the rhymes and quatrains for this one for some reason ;} i love how you put it ... the enormity of creation .... we have no capacity ...even with imagination do we?! as it should be i suppose .. thanks for choosing to read this one .. and bringing me back to it ... love and peace Dennis!
E.

[Ruth]

Everyone and everything is a metaphor I think. This is a belter of a piece and a cracking title E :) Faith/spirituality or whatever name we grace it with is all perception in my belief...the great universal energy decoded into an aspect we can reach on some level...it is within the self as the heavens are, within nature most everywhere and weaves us all together in unknown ways...beautifully done E. You are a magnificent writer :)

[Einstein Noodle]

awwww thank you Ruth .. i am humbled and gratified at the same time .. that this spoke to you ... i know right?! how can it be other than metaphor that we attempt to speak of such greatness and expanse .. we are in tune it seems, Ruth ... now that i think of it .. all "reality" is perception as well ... isn't it?! ;) ... seeking God is what counts i think .. without that thirst we can be quite a fallen lot ... love your avatar by the way ... mysterious and almost haunting .. is that you? so happy you chose to read this one ... God is after all by definition .. very important ;)
E.

[Ruth]

Reality is too...I believe this existence and universe is way beyond what we think it is and the matrix kinda vibe is only a splinter of what reality really is...the avatar is me E yes so thank you for that:) Reality or illusion, I am glad I get to read you :) Stay well...

[Einstein Noodle]

back at ya Ruth :)

[h d e rushin]

You're brave. That is, in poetry time where bravery, punctuation, truth and ash all happen at the same time.They said of Dickinson that she was brave/ by comparison to Whitman and the other male poets writing at the time. They said of Whitman that he was brave to write like he had considering all the other male poets that were writing at the time. More than a single poem can ever make us think, it makes us look. Bravery then is the metaphor for the objects we cant articulate. That's why 18 year old soldiers jump on top of hand grenades to save their comrades, or why poets disregard the thunderbolts from the sky politely looking for the blaspheme to disintegrate ...lol/ great poem/ dana

[Einstein Noodle]

you have graced me page dana! and i am especially glad that you in particular found and read this one .. i do confess some fear and trepidation in constructing "God is a Metaphor...." .. i think Emmily was of the first heralds of Modernism in poetry ... your comparisons take me aback ... truly ... makes me feel numb fingers not quite knowing what to say ... but for bravery my dear friend .. i take you as my example .. no disintegration yet thank the Lord! ;) God truly can stand questions, doubts and all the ways we can say things ... easy breezy ... thank the Lord! :)))
E.

[LazerRays]

I think anyone who believes in God will agree he’s in everything. Even a metaphor. Where there’s beauty, there’s God. There’s a singer I like who sings about seeing God In everything which is interesting to listen to, and this reminded me of that a bit. Only this was more Robert Frost type style and I enjoyed that more than the song. I always love nature, and this could also reach to anybody who doesn’t believe in God but still loves nature. This just reaches everybody haha.

[Einstein Noodle]

I thin you are right ... all one has to do is observe what is around us to see the proof of Grand Design .. understanding it is another matter eh!? its more about trust than understanding me thinks ;) i was thinking about how we describe God ... and it occurred to me the best we do is with metaphor .."Bread of Life" ... "The Way" ... "the Door" ... etc. ... in the Jewish tradition they use different names seven of them that are so Holy that when written down they can not be erased .. and six that are titles .. and if i am not mistaken ... one that should not be spoken aloud due to the Majesty of Almighty God ... i like the Viking term "All Father" ...its the easiest one for me to wrap my head around ... i hope there is something for everyone ... in all my poetry (like we all do) i am grateful you see that in this one ... thanks Sarah! peace and love!
E.

[.]

A very interesting title, dear E! Any musings about God and his presence or lack thereof are bound to receive a wide variety of thoughts and opinions. The first time I have heard of Him addressed as being a metaphor, though. I guess it all depends on the beliefs of the individual. Many would say that God represents all that you have described visually in your stanzas; He is in everything of the beauty that surrounds us; others need more concrete answers of his existence. So, I guess we shall always have questions about Him and never quite the answers we need. I enjoyed your thoughts here and your presentation of Him in a very original light. Much enjoyed!:))

[Einstein Noodle]

thanks so much Jamila .. for taking time to share your own thoughts on it .. i was thinking about God (as i do often actually) and realized that all we have are metaphors to describe Him ... in the old times of the Jewish belief they had names to represent aspects of Him .. the one they had for "ALL' those together they would not speak for fear and trembling ... of course the names in their language meant more than just one word .. metaphors ;) thanks so much for looking around my streets here and finding this .. much appreciation

[Relic]

Unfortunately, my pithy mind just doesn't get a lot of this. tuck and rolled white-red leather...prickly pare cactus bleeds bended knees Hmm? I am just a simpleton that got lucky with a few poems. Someday I'll get stuff like this, but for now, it's a struggle. I do like it though. :)

[Einstein Noodle]

thanks for struggling through it Relic .. it is abstract like much of me "stuff" .. the lack of straight forward is abstracts appeal and its downfall .. its the style i find in my voice but continue to buffer my intent with more structure .. maybe the next one .. eh!? thanks again ever so much for reading and sharing your thoughts and reactions .. its important to me :)
E.

[The White Raven]

Curious. Is the ending meant to be an extended statement? God is a metaphor may be the title, but I sort of take the line where you say 'loving parts I will not admit' as a statement eventually finished with 'God is a metaphor' and 'with all due respect'.

"I will not admit God is a metaphor, with all due respect." Nor should you. For the believers, He is real, living, and true.

Just my take. I may not be Christian, although I've thought, and continue to think about it, but if I were a believer, I would not call God a metaphor. We can use metaphors to try and describe what is beyond us, and this world, but while they bring a certain light to the shadows, only faith could do the rest.

[Einstein Noodle]

what a great review Raven ... nice to see you grace me pages .. will certainly repay the visit .. i took a chance with the title as it has the risk of seeming to belittle God in some way .. but i went with it ...and you got it spot on .. we have no words nor way to convey the one true Living God .. at best He is a metaphor in our expression "Bread of Life" "Living Water" "the Door" etc. so in essence that's what He is .. with all due respect ;) i am a Christian ... the words and teaching of Jesus can make the path straight for those who look and seek with brutal honesty ... the big leap ...as you point out ... is one of Faith .. and in my own experience .. it takes only the smallest crack to let the Light in and begin a whole other journey ... for me reading the Bible was and is very important ... any Faith is tested .. if it doesn't have sound foundation built .. it will collapse .. sometimes because of the smallest and seeming insignificant situation .. but if it is True .. we walk through those times darkness with trust and assurance .. i am glad you point out that line "loving parts i will not admit" .. i am not sure i understand the question you have about it in relation to the closing ..imagine you are standing before God ... nothing can be withheld ...there is no hiding .. but like Adam and Eve .. the first thing we want to do is hide and cover ourselves ;)i really appreciate the time you have taken to read and consider and share your thoughts on this one .. like Light says below .. it is a pretty personal one for me

[Einstein Noodle]

oh .. and truth be told .. if one can accept it .. God loves all parts of us regardless and seeks only to heal and lift up ... those things i want to hold on to but know in my heart i must let them go .. i hope that helps :)