Poiéma

A poem about the poetry God writes: us

There’s a phrase in the Bible that describes us as God’s workmanship.¹

The word workmanship comes from the Greek poiēma — the same root as poetry.

In some mysterious way, we are God’s poetry. Each human, a work of art from the Great Artist.

I wrote a poem about it.

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Poiéma

i know God is an artist because of her.

why else
would it be so hard to explain what she’s like —

not because nothing comes to mind,
because too much does.

so much to say,
all of it true —

but none of it
tells you
enough.

you could explain where she grew up,
her sense of humor,

or how long it takes her to get ready.

you could read a biography on her life,
but that’s not it either.

she’s not a mortal human;
she is the product of an artist’s concentrated efforts.

there is a world inside of her.

her laugh —
an art history class
that couldn’t be taught if someone tried.

you just need to listen for yourself.

if you want to write like one of the greats,
just spend the day with her.

watch the way people’s faces light up,
and she doesn’t even notice.

all of a sudden
you’ll scramble to find sentence structure
to communicate what you’ve witnessed.

you can’t explain her family dynamic
without jazz music —
how every member plays their own form of chaos,
and somehow
she finds herself singing a melody.

she is eternal,
enchanted by the breath of an artist.

i am convinced there is no better way to meet with God
than to watch her —
his creative offspring.

some people try and point out her flaws and strengths,
try and figure out what box to fit her in,
but that’s not the point of art.

time with her
turns you from a mere mortal

into a side character in a Ray Charles song,
one of Van Gogh’s stars in the night.

imagine —
you get to tag along.

she came out of the room
asking me to help her choose what to wear,
as if there were a right or wrong answer.

God is too good of an artist.

you can choose to put a frame on a masterpiece,
but it’s an impossible task.


i chose the denim jacket.

but we both know —
nothing would do her justice.

1. Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”