resignation
there might be a good kind

God
where are you
I mean
in the flesh
please

in the God
or whatever form you take
to bring your presence
to us
to talk with us as you talked in the garden

or if a bush of
fire
is needed
well
the unconsuming kind doesn’t burn anything else

does it
I guess I’m asking

and we could talk
and if I deal
with abject
terror
I might remember that you talked this way
in a garden
with a naked couple
who were unashamed

and
I know a great deal has
happened
since then
but
God
I’d really like to know you

I’d really like to have
you know
a real conversation

my needs
well
they feel sharp today
and
you know there are problems elsewhere
too

and if we talked
and you gave me directions
then
I’d know how
to follow
though
I don’t how to build an ark
or lead anyone through any kind of
desert

but then
the orders you gave were new
to Noah
and
to Moses

or Deborah or Judith
who lived by calling and by prayer
and maybe found one through the other

which
I guess
means
something
for disembodies prayer
and
I so wanted to say
the books
the formal worship
aren’t enough
and
they’re not

but openness to ask and then to listen
or to listen to myself then ask
of you
I guess these could be enough
they would be like talking
like a conversation
after
all

sigh
all right
I’ll try
and though I could not wrestle with an angel
maybe
we could talk a little plainer
time to time

and I won’t ask for garden miracles
though
in the clouds or something
I could guess at least
in
something of
your presence

c l couch


photo by Alistair MacRobert on Unsplash