The Gods

A story from our deepness doing what
with Professor Friedman’s observation?

O ye troubled mighty spirit sons,
Made of spirit stuff—humble—pure—
Begotten, yes made,
Active in the way of your Maker

who knew best—
who gave you precious gifts—
work and freedom
amidst a roomy place
and a boundary
beyond which warned of doom,
Know ye whence ye came to be gods?

O ye happy spirit sons! You shouted in your thrill!
New world spoken into being for your joy.
Feelings stirred—awe; wonder; curiosity; gifted.
Betook in applause.

Ye sons, you watched the making of living things,
Then beheld Yahweh saying to his Master Worker,
to his spirit son first among his Works,
on assignment at his side,
(1) “Let us make a human, in our image,”
“Male and female,” blessed of God,
And the last Day of Creation reached its close.

But then in your abode—

What the feelings of Yahweh Maker

when those of you beloved spirit sons
announced that you knew better?
“I will freeboot!”
“I will embellish!”
“I will joy!”
“Claimants” deeming good from bad—
Thus you earned the appellation “gods”
in the sense of ones
who chose,
who claimed,
who asserted,
a right and an ability
to tread your way
as executives of your souls—

O you wayward sons of God, you gods,
choosing independence
vying
challenging
rebelling—

And further sadness
When the humans joined your claim,
Obliging Lord Yahweh
To express his unhappy thought,

“So be it, gods,
(2) the humans are now like us,
captains of their souls,
planting their own tree-of-life,
if they can.”
And Yahweh sighed to his own hurt,
“According to their choice
I release the humans
from my most watchful care.
Now let us boast,
you gods in the heavens
and you captains upon the earth,
I will give you opportunity,
let us see,
which one of us, if any,
can do good.”

Then, ye gods, ye mighty ones,
You changed your garments
To go down—
Playing human,
Playing macho,
Spreading ruin
Through the daughters of humankind
Whom you chose,
Yahweh speaking in counsel with himself,
Saying, “I’ll wipe the humans
Whom I’ve created
From the face of the earth,”
And it was done. Forget you never will.

Next when you gods had fled the flood
And humans had multiplied again
Through the dutiful few afloat
To build a tower to the sky
Yahweh to you gods outspoke,
Saying,

(3) “Let us go down
in garments of the wind,
I give you opportunity,
I spot you for inspection,
each to make his claim—
a god to a nation or a tribe—
however you can build—
a god to a language—
keeping your work yours—
mine through Abraham in Hebrew—
and consigning you to whatever doom
you prove yourselves worthy of
I’ll speak in council with you
nevermore.”
And it was so.


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