What God Forgot
“But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and all the domestic animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided; the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, and the waters gradually receded from the earth.” Genesis 8:1-3a
Young deities can get overwhelmed. Sometimes nothing seems to gel And that thing you made makes life hell. The thing began really good, just as the god stated, But when it didn’t work the way Yahweh hoped The little deity got extremely frustrated. The thing became a mess, And it caused Yahweh immense distress. So the young god turned the water on Just to give the stuff a thorough wash, And rework the messed up parts Without those broken pieces. Creating and cleaning made Yahweh tired Already worked up from all that anger When things didn’t go the way Yahweh desired Yahweh needed a break. The god turned away for a minute’s breath to take. Probably had a snack, Maybe even a nap Which was likely followed by independent play Knocking around some favorite stars as night overtook the day. Yahweh watched all those glittering sparks Fly out everywhere across the dark Til it was bedtime for the sleepy deity who yawned quite large. But, as Yahweh lay trying to slumber There was something the god couldn’t remember. The young deity rolled, tossed and turned. What could Yahweh be forgetting? Unsure, the tucked god fell asleep To the gentle sound of rain pouring like a sound machine. But, all the water noise gave Yahweh that pressing urge. So, the young deity got up to relieve the demiurge, Taking care of business, proud not to have wet the bed but the earth. Going back to bed for good beauty rest, Yahweh slept away the emotional distress Waking like a new god feeling happy and fresh. After a wholesome, hearty breakfast The god scratched a bit and stretched While walking to the bathroom where Yahweh found the forgotten mess. The young deity had left the water running for god knows how long And flooded the entire place ruining all that the god had done. So, quickly did Yahweh turn that god forsaken spigot off. Yahweh made the best of it, splashing all around Til the water drained enough to reveal the soggy ground. Then Yahweh found some water colors and smeared them up and down Calling it a rainbow like a child who couldn’t think of anything better Than to name the killer consequence of the oopsy left from anger Something beautiful, to forget the pain in the midst of the disaster.
The poem above is the result of a late-night conversation with a good friend (Blake Matty). I haven’t been in ministry for several years now, so the opportunity to talk Bible and historical theology as Blake was preparing for a sermon and Bible class was good fun. We were talking about the story of Noah and we got a kick out of the phrase in Genesis, “God remembered Noah” which led Blake to say something to the effect of, What, did God forget to turn the water off? We laughed and joked about that idea for while. That sentiment stuck with me and led me to write the poem I’m sharing this week. So, thank you for the inspiration Blake.