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 /

[MOON]

I would like to think that God is within all of us , not a punishing one at all. We are here to perhaps learn a particular lesson and move on. We make our own heaven or hell . We so busy being right we hardly see others. Beautifully written and thought provoking.

[Otsana]

I really enjoyed this poem because it is one of the reasons I personally refuse to believe in a God who is meant to be so forgiving and yet he chooses whether we go to heaven or hell, surely he would just forgive everyone their sins, right? Anyway, I think you have a wonderful talent which is obvious in this piece of writing as it is a very delicate subject which can easily offend if not tackled in the right way and you have managed to do so very delicately with your inoffensive use of language. Great write!

[light and ashes]

Very interesting, I don't believe that God ever wanted to punish us but being of flawed nature we did it to ourselves. My biggest problem is the problem of forgiveness. Sometimes when we've been hurt so deeply it takes some time before we are strong enough to forgive. As long as we forgive we will be wrapped in his arms of love forever, nice write.

[Octob3r Star]

That was very interesting

[Lily Mae]

I'm just a simple woman but I don't believe in a God that punishes us..I believe we do an good enough job at that and end up at his feet in the end to be picked up in his arms in eternal love..xo and forgiveness..xo Beautiful work Tate..xo

[Manpreet]

Vow! amazing work here! with lovely music!

[?]

Our lives would be a tapestry
a quilt of love, from beauty built

Those two lines...made it for me...

I agree we need to look at ourselves "Search our Hearts"

A very thought provoking piece with such heart felt thoughts

[Coyote Poetry]

I enjoyed the photo and your words. In the photo Mark Twain? The more I live. The less I understand. I like the questions raised by this poem. Thank you for the outstanding poem.
Coyote

[Dane Osborne]

I found this thought provoking as well. I am very spiritual in my own odd, funny little way. I have researched other religons like buddhism and hinduism, I own a copy of the Koran, and I have read into church history (pretty gruesome stuff at times). I have also read the Bible BUT as a great work of ancient literature that has remarkable poetic language and stories (much more gruesome stories than what was taught in Sunday school).

Though the process of all this, I decided I had an innate right to imagine God in any way I please. In short, A god that makes sense to me.

Tradition becomes what it is through the want of safety. Paradoxically, people kill for safety, good people do bad things for it. This is why tradition sheds more blood than sins.

I could go on in great depth about this subject so I will cut short.

I sincerly enjoyed this peice.

Well done.