A Chat with God about This and That

POETRY DearGod,todayI'dliketochataboutthisandthat likepals,nothoushallandshallnot,nocallingup toyoufromtheabyss,noprovingyouexist. Let'sgocasual,abluejeansaffair,andtalk aboutsomethingdumb,aTVshowmaybe. Idon'twatchmuch,don'tlikemyeyes helpless,drawntothehighrateofscreenflicker wherecrowdsofincorporealfigures speaknewworldsintobeing. Iwanttokeepmybrainwavesclear soIcanreceiveyou.Oh,God, herewegoagainwiththemetaphysics. Beforeweswitchtopics,I'mcurious: You'reall-knowing,yourattentionomnipresent— howmanychannelscanyouwatchatonce? Howmanywars?Howmanylovers? Howmanyriversflooding?Howmanywildflowers bloominginhowmanyclimatezones? Doyoubecomenumb,too? Orcanyouresistbeingtransfixed? Oh,dear,let'sgetbackontrack, haveourchataboutthisandthat. Let'snotmixuptheordinary andtheextraordinary.Nokisses, noflourishing,nomiracles,nothunder, nowrath,nodeath,nowonder,noone wreckedlikeme.Howaboutanerrand? Nottheoneintothewilderness— Iwanttheconstant,thenecessary, say,groceryshopping.Peoplecommonly advisedon'tgotothestorehungry, you'llbuytoomuch.ButIcan'tbuy anythingunlessmystomachcallsme tothetilapia,polenta,pistachios,parsley, andoranges—thendeliciousLs,Ohs,andAhs onmytongueprepareaPlatonicideal ofamealtoservemylovedones. DoIneedtemptationtonourishlife? OrdoIneedtoneedinordertocreate? Orperhapsmydivineconcoctionismade withalittlethis,alittlethat.Iwon'tname theingredients,thesecretsofthetrade, thoughyoualreadyknow,havinggivenme allIamandallIpossessandallIdon't. Thisandthataresuchboringwords, unattachedastheyaretoearthorheaven, unliketheearthandtheheavens inwhichyouaremanifest. Orperhapsthosewordsarefree-flyingbirds alightingonwhatevertheyplease. SometimesI'dliketostayinoneplace. Givemesomeboredom,dearGod,abalm formylamentorpraiseorthankstoyou thatnothingbutnothingrefusestoflower. A Chat with God about This and That — Aliki Barnstone J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 0 9 W W W. T I K K U N . O R G T I K K U N 79 Jumps_1:Jumps 6/16/09 3:17 PM Page 79 ...