god face-to-face
12 March 2008
I have found that I too wrestle with God but not like Jacob who wrestled for the blessing; I wrestle that I might avoid any blessing at all.
Jacob
wrestles with
angels; I…I wrestle
with myself.
Knees raised, legs
wrapped, body tensed,
breathless to touch
the hip out
of joint so
as to receive
some
blessing that
I cannot grant.
Folding in and
over myself…
rolling like a möbius
(I fight the perpetual fight,
pose the perpetual
question) and thereby
thieve unendingly my
own despised
birthright.
In this I am
undone; in this I
avoid forever God
face-to-
face.
13 March 2008 at 2:22 am
bravo!!! this was excellent on many levels.. the struggle the references and the formatting wow… i am impressed… i really enjoyed this…..
14 March 2008 at 8:36 pm
ditto with what paisley said, very nice indeed.
14 March 2008 at 9:05 pm
That’s a really interesting (and shapely) piece. It left me with enough questions so as to dig deeper into your website, but the questions remain. I’m nothing if not, sometimes, obtuse. I don’t understand the blessing you can’t grant, or your “despised birthright,” so I look forward to reading more of your work with the expectation that more will be revealed.
14 March 2008 at 9:33 pm
This is dynamic! It gives the very real illusion (in the poem’s shape) that this is the ultimate wrestle with eternity!
A great write!
Gemma
15 March 2008 at 12:18 am
This is a powerful piece, and to me a convicting one. I am so often my own biggest barrier against God’s blessing. Thanks for taking the time to create the poem!
15 March 2008 at 10:31 am
this is excellent, the way it can be read in three ways because of the formatting, the formatting itself reflecting Jacob’s ladder
16 March 2008 at 3:57 am
Well done! Formatting the eternity/mobius strip is not an easy task - the word choices are wonderful!
16 March 2008 at 11:24 am
Excellent words. That was the image of the DNA double helix you were trying to reproduce, wasn’t it?
16 March 2008 at 9:02 pm
I love it. On so many levels.
17 March 2008 at 2:35 am
Well crafted piece achieving clarity. Words speak and show its true form so the reader would completely understand.
Great piece.
I wish you well.
~ Jeques
17 March 2008 at 3:47 am
I love how you presented this piece what a great post and so very clever.
23 March 2008 at 2:50 pm
utterly astounding .. i love this … so as we are … squirming souls in flesh …
23 March 2008 at 11:04 pm
Hey! this is my uncle’s website! Hey I don’t like all sonic! I am christian and sometimes like to read! And can you post me here and there?
28 March 2008 at 3:56 am
That form is incredible.
31 March 2008 at 7:08 pm
You are one of the featured poets of the week at Poets Who Blog. Thanks for being a part of the site.
1 April 2008 at 1:24 am
I am so glad that PWB featured your work. This is a fascinating piece and I am in awe of how you successful you were with the shaping of the poem. I have played around with shapes but struggle with translating them into my blog. Bravo.
2 April 2008 at 4:46 am
Everything in this is incredible. I love the shape of the poem. Sometimes I feel like when people “shape” their poems in ways that are a real departure from the norm, it detracts because it distracts; but this fits perfectly. The upper part of my body was moving with this as I was reading it
4 April 2008 at 1:33 am
found you via pwb. Very nice poem, both visually as well as its meaning. I’ll be back!
5 April 2008 at 2:09 pm
Hi,
I like it
a lot, very creative
great shaping beautifully written!
Have a great weekend, see you, ciao Milou
7 April 2008 at 3:27 pm
we can be our own worst enemies & this captures that exactly
14 April 2008 at 6:09 pm
I am impressed by the shape of the poem, spiraling so precisely that I can see which of its möbius-like DNA strands slips behind the other. Bravo!