"Creation" by John C. Mannone

Creation

John C. Mannone

[1] In the beginning

there was a universe

of letters in the package

from the flower catalog,

cosmos seeds were there, too.

And inspiration hovered

over the dark and formless soil.

[2] And I broadcasted

those seeds. Rains came

when windows of heaven opened.

[3] After the face of many

waters looked into the ground,

ideas germinated, sprouted

through the once barren earth

that had blocked the great light.

[4] And words bloomed

with the crested iris, crocus

and daffodil. They were hid

in the soft petals, in their sweet

perfume drifting into air—

soon, they would condense

as dewdrops on the scroll

of tiger lily petals like a strand

of pearls glistening in the grass.

[5] And a meadow breeze

jostled the jonquils full of new

expression, phrases scribed

even on their stems.

[6] At the end of the day,

the hyacinth and all the spring

flowers brought forth a poem.

And it was good. 

Poet’s Notes: “Creation” is a meta-poem, kind of an ars poetica, but more. Since it has the structural flavor of the sacred texts, I introduced bracketed numbers to simulate verses as in the Book of Genesis.

Editor's Note:  I thought this one fitting status post Simchat Torah earlier this week, making this week's Torah portion parshah Bereishit (Genesis 1:1 - 6:8).  And here is a shout out to my nephew in California who will be called to the Torah as bar mitzvah tomorrow.  Chazak!  Chazak!  V'nitchazek!