My God

Mark Twain

If I could create my own god

a soul of both solace and mirth

He who needs no one’s flatteries

nor demands them from all the earth

 

He would not possess jealousy

a trait that even men despise

Showing each one he is equal

within the lord of this worlds eyes

 

Having made of each a sinner

he would love all of us the same

Blaming himself for our failings

not tempering us in a flame

 

Our lives would be a tapestry

a quilt of love, that beauty built

Where he'd take pride in what we are

and not punish us, for his guilt

 

Author's Note

We have to keep our God placated with prayers, and even then we are never sure of him -- how much higher and finer is the Indian's God......Our illogical God is all-powerful in name, but impotent in fact; the Great Spirit is not all-powerful, but does the very best he can for his injun and does it free of charge.
Mark Twain

It seems that it truly is our own intolerance of others that will do us all in. We need to occasionally look at ourselves and the things we believe. How else can we ever effect change. It almost makes me wonder why Jesus decided to come here as a 6 ft white man with blue eyes. This in a area where the population is under six ft tall and has light brown skin and brown eyes. He certainly would have stood out. We all know what populations do to those who are different. It is enough to ponder that a man doesn't know if he should laugh or cry! Could it be as simple an observation as this? Could it be true that man created God in his own image? That would surely be one way of explaining him acting like us.

Reviews

[jdr / Jennifer]

A very powerful, very courageous write. Although we all seem to think differently about religion- I wanted to comment on the beauty and elegance that this poetic piece of writing exuberates. 'Our lives would be a tapestry, a quilt of love that beauty built'- stunning imagery- and this piece has a wonderful flow about it. On a more personal note of its contents: ‘Do I believe In God?- Yes.’ But I also believe that God would want us to ask questions and to never stop searching for what ‘we’ believe in as individuals and as a whole. To find out what helps us get through life and experience it in all its glory. To learn to from every step we take and to pass our experience, our lessons and our love on to others. Not to doubt that there is a higher power than ourselves, but to find what it is that we believe in our own heart of hearts. I do not think that it is for us to prove in our own time, but to just believe… And to have the vast majority of the world believe… That is some miracle. No matter what name you give to it.

Thank you for sharing your incredible talent.

[Tate Morgan]

You always seem to intently study what you read.i appreciate that immensely. I never have been one to be led by the masses .I always make up my own mind. I look at the Soviet Union for instance and there was a government and way of living adhered to by an entire culture.Yet flawed to the core. I think we always need to evolve.If I were thew father of humanity I would not create a subspecies below me in every way. As a father i want my son to become more than me not to strive to be worthy of me.

[lee von cleef]

"More than me" , (A hitch hiker on your conversation) "More than me" I believe is a very Christen thought,not a universal one ,though it would be nice if all thought that way.

[Tate Morgan]

You are no hitch hiker lol To me you are a fellow traveler on the light /

[Mary C]

Brilliant poem

[Kenneth The Poet]

Nice one, Tate. Quite possibly your best work.

[Nautili]

Over the years, and very recently as well, I have had an evolving faith in the sense that I do believe my earlier beliefs were distorted, and yes, in many ways, illogical. I do not believe God is impotent, but our mind's projected hologram of the God of the whole universe is.

[Kaa Na Kalyanasundaram]

Having made of each a sinner
he would love all of us the same
Blaming himself for our failings
not tempering us in a flame

..................very good line composing my friend. I like the apt words which suits the inner meanings and depth of the poem. My best wishes.

[RedInk524]

Hmmm.... A dissatisfaction with god and blaming him for our troubles. A pretty solid stance regarding god, and one that many could heavily argue against, such as saying "It's not gods fault" or "Satan did this". I like the image of a mere human challenging the abilities and decisions of god and claiming to know how to do better. Man vs. religion, always an interesting theme. And really, the reader's stance regarding god shouldn't matter, because matching or not, the ideas expressed in this poem are right in the eyes of the writer and thus art.

[An owl on the moon]

Deep, rich ponderings of life and our place in the universe... It made me wonder if each one of us took from your first line and finished in our own words, how many vastly different "gods" we would end up with. Very introspective.

[Dinesh Sairam]

If I could create my own god
a soul of both solace and mirth
He who needs no one’s flatteries
nor demands them from all the earth

Splendid opening, Tate. I wouldn't say the ending carried as much emotion, but was nevertheless good. You are someone, I imagine, like Robert Frost. You can very easily put emotions into EASY words. That's something I yearn for.. albeit in my own style. I guess I'll get around to it some day.

Keep writing.

[Me]

extraordinary work

[KAREN]

My God loves us all, I just look around at the good and read my Bible to know that he is real and loves us all. After all he died for you and me, thats how much he loves us all. Your poem is beautifully written and has a wonderful message, may all eyes be opened to it and ears to the words of the song.