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

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

Beautiful deep dive of introspection, thoughts and words here E. "God is a Metaphor...With All Due Respect"- a knockout of a title! Exquisite language and great form with questions asked and answered-or not really... Maybe we are all metaphors. Loved this provocative poem E. Happy 2020!

[Einstein Noodle]

thanks Annette .. Happy and prosperous 2020 to you as well ... i try hard to find God ...most all the time .. and it occurred to me how my endeavors were very much focused on getting to Him ... understanding and communicating with God .. and for the life of me we have no word for God .. not really .. none that describe or even attempt to describe God's power, Majesty, beneficence etc etc. ... then it occurred to me the best we do is metaphor ;) thanks so much for taking time Annette ... its a treat to have your visits!
E.

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

Awwww- you are too good to me E.! Love reading your work and your many layers of thoughts. Gives my brain a workout!:))

[andrew mitchell]

Great work Gene and what a title. Yes its all about being religious or spiritual I think. But here we have the onion model peeling back layers to digest.

[Einstein Noodle]

i love onions ... i put them in everything i cook! ;) thanks Andrew ... i couldn't be more gratified this pointed you to the peeling back .. we all need it .. with brutal honesty .. the tears well worth it :) happy happy day to ya sir!!

[Neville]

You just nailed poetry, so ya did sir... With all due respect … this is bloomin brilliant... period.

N :)))

[Einstein Noodle]

Neville .... when you say such a thing i believe it .. with all humility .. thanks so much .. for this really encouraging review .. slainte mhath!

[Neville]

It is said and it is true.. slainte mhath brother..

[Moonie]

I'm a bit of a staunch atheist to be honest, and can agree to God being a metaphor, an abstract thought, an idea conjured up out of thin air by the ever expanding human mind. Even though our religions and gods are temporary(Remember there were all kinds of nature gods once upon a time before the advent of Christianity), this idea persists. We have had many societies without the invention of the wheel, but few without the invention of god. I think the concept of creating an all powerful(that being a paradoxical description btw) deity, (who is like a benevolent sky-daddy who watches our every action) has everything to do with the fear that a sentient life is bound to experience during its evolution. But with the tremendous intellectual progress that we're witnessing today, there has been a sharp shift, with more and more people realising that it isn't science which disproved the existence of god, it is the flawed idea of god that collapsed upon itself.

I understand that you're implying that god is everything and everywhere, but not only is that contradictory, it sounds like another diluted version of the original sky-daddy idea. If god is the energy that recycles through the universe, he/she/it hardly sounds like a deity to be revered, and more like a being that is ignorant of our existence(pretty lovecraftian).

I love the expressions in the poem, and the brilliant flow. I wish I'd have come up with --

"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" ....
....sorry i was gonna go with just the first 2 lines of the last stanza, but the entire thing is so great ugh, I love it whole!! This is such a master piece, I can sense so clearly all the care and thought that went into every word. This is exactly why you're one of my 5 favorite writers on here(won't reveal the other 4 ha) and why I kept checking up on your page even during my sabbatical from the site.

[Einstein Noodle]

thank you Moon Daughter .. i am so happy and humbled to be read here and especially by those who visit and re-visit .. to be among your top 5 inspires me to try more .. aspire more .. thank you ever so much .. as an atheist i imagine it was a challenge to work through this one .. as your perceptions are correct .. and i won't presume to argue theology, logic nor science ... we have come a long road to arrive at our beliefs .. and my respect is for that journey .. the tragedy is if and when we think we have it down ... as sure as the power of water, wind, earth and fire cycle .. we will be shown we do not have that "answer" .. we haven't quite figured it all out .. and for the persistent .. the journey starts anew ;)) i am a Christian .. which only means i know i am sinful and need supernatural assistance to stand before God ... a lot of times i like to think of it as in the John Travolta movie "Phenomenon" in which he hears how trees and plants worldwide communicate through the root system .. in essence everywhere all the time ... i think a glimpse at our human connection is in science .. carbon science and far beyond that as an atom is studied in smaller and smaller pieces .. all things having atomic connection ;) love your review .. so happy you read it through and found things that spoke to you ... love and joy dear friend!

[Stella Armour]

We all have our own ideas about God, and there are so many different faiths throughout the world who worship idols; not for me to disagree but ....
for myself God is the universal energy that supports everything on this lovely planet of ours, we are a part of the greater miracle and should feel humbled as such in that we draw strength and have the abilty if we wish to use it to help maintain the balance of all natural things.

[Einstein Noodle]

i don't think any of the great religions have argument with you about that Stella ... omnipresent, omnipotent and available ;) the trick seems to me to be the path .. to find it and get on it ... and stay on it ... the path being our choices and prerogatives set ..both inner and outer ... if we seek ... we will absolutely find says i! courage and brutal honesty necessary :)))))))))) thanks a lot for reading and sharing your thoughts and beliefs on God, Stella .. means a lot you know ;)
E.

[emmajoy]

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'

What a superb prolonged thought! Was more than doubtful when i began to read.. was prepared to feel upset, confused, offended. But, dear you, you' ve set your thoughts in front of you, not dissected them but, faced them and seen what is or.. more like, what i think you think it is. Thus: God in His unfathomable state is at the helm of everything good, gentle, kind, respectful, tolerant, realistic, patient, hopeful.. and more, so much more. if we believe the whole. even if we're not aware of its incredible complexity, we are what we were intended to be when we came from nowhere and faced Life. Perhaps?? How I respect your words, how i thank you for posting them.

Hope this isn't tainted by the mess left behind previously, not, NOT my doing. So sorry. Please delete the mess.

[Einstein Noodle]

dear beautiful friend Em ... i wondered if the mess was actually my fault because i tried posting this one to my facebook page but then weird things happened that made me think it was not such a good idea .. my FB suddenly was all in German :O ... difficult to hit any right buttons when you can't read what they are .. anyway .. figured it out and posted it the way i normally do instead of with a link ... i love your review so much! that you caught the depth and full acceptance i think God/Creator gives us ... yes.. all those things and more as you say ... i can not imagine one moment without thoughts, meditations, metaphors, prayers about our Creator and this whole wide world we live in .. just a glimpse and a gleam make rags of riches eh!? thank you for reading reviewing and caring ... your thoughts are quite precious dahlink!

[emmajoy]

Thank you so much for your patience and am so sorry for the German problem you had to deal with. No idea what initially happened! Took a while for my 'coughy' brain to get there, but - doing this or that, copy/pasting, etc. worked. Thank goodness.

What made it worse was the sensitive and sacred theme of your writing. Seems all's well.. and your words will now drift on and on as an example of what can be, will be forever!

[Einstein Noodle]

(((((((((((((((((((((Emma))))))))))))))))))))))) ;)

[emmajoy]

Waving, smiling

[Kathy Van Kurin]

'God is a Metaphor...With All Due Respect'
Einstein Noodle,
Within the design of design of design..is how I felt when reading here. Your description is the reality of how we feel and why do we care. I think that the Spirit of of God speaks in, with, through in myriads of ways. Greatness and grandeur in life and nature and family, friends. How do we describe God? Really good question. Super poem which left identifying with your words. Bless you much.
Kathy

[Einstein Noodle]

thank you Kathy! ... and God bless you too!

[R.E. Ray]

This makes God real, E! He’s not the white-haired, bearded old man we might’ve imagined in Sunday school. He’s everywhere and everything. Even when I see contradictions in nature (one animal killing another), I see not an evil or conflicted deity, but the blessing of a continued species and nature at work. Even when I’ve felt my faith has left me, I see evidence of Him in every living thing around me. An exceptional write, E.

[Einstein Noodle]

R.E. .... yes yes and yes ... you have made me day with your words ... so happy and gratified this spoke to you in such a way .. you touch everything i tried to do ... blessing on ya brother .. sometimes i think i am breathing God in and out ... in and out ... and everything kind of slows down ... and becomes quiet ;) love ya man!
E.