Writing Process: Poem Inspired by the Bible’s Creation Story.

I started a writing group, and this week wrote a poem to workshop.

One group member mentioned writing prayers, and I got the idea to look for inspiration on this poem in the Bible I bought, intending to read to help me better understand all the Christians in my life.

I was raised Buddhist, and found my spiritual home in Paganism my first year of college, and I studied as an anthropology student Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism from India to China and Tibet and beyond, every religion I came across except Judaism and Christianity, which I thought were basically the same thing.

(See: what happens when you assume instead of looking stuff up.)

I confess I was bigoted against Western religion. I did end up studying Islam because I took Arabic in college, hoping to become an Egyptologist one day.

So here I am, trying to study a Bible Story and make art out of it.

Here’s draft three, not close to done.

John’s Lord God Creates It All, pt. 1

The Spirit of God hovers over the waters of Creation.

Before Form, creates Light.

Before Morning, creates Night.

First morning, second day, from infinite indigo, God forms the Heavens and space.

Day three, Creator calls Mother Earth to rise up from Her birth waters.

From black fertile skin springs green seed-bearing grasses, herbs, fruit trees. Our infant world breathes.

Morning four, God seeds the body of Heaven with starfire, sets our Sun, bright and hot; our moon, reflective and not.

The planets, the comets, the asteroids, the stars whirl around each other;

cosmic dance of form, force, light, and shadow…signs in our sky – guides, beacons.

Color fills our world before we do.

Green and blue egg twirling in the indigo; more black, brown, red, and yellow up close.

On the fifth day did Creator fill our waters with life, seabound.

On the fifth day, did our skies fill with birds, song and sound.

The fifth night God blessed them all to replenish themselves year round.

The sixth day God ordered up cattle and all the creeping things,

beasts of the Earth, including, at last, people, to subdue and watch over all Creation brings.

Let us make humanity in Our Image, Creator sings.

Earth’s waters rise to blanket Her fertile land in mist, and from swirling humid dust,

male and female, John’s Lord God created humans and beasts,

in the World of the Patriarchs, God breathes life into a male first, before

blessing us with rest and reflection on the final day,

blessing us with time.