I realise I may be pushing it, offering you a poem containing reference to ‘god’ two weeks in a row. For me, though, both last week’s poem and this week’s can work simply in humanistic terms, even if they speak differently to those with a faith in god (whatever she may look like). Where last week’s poem spoke of the power of appreciation and gratitude, this week’s is about acceptance; and I hope that even if you’re triggered by the word god you’ll hang in there long enough to read Kaylin Haught’s ‘God says Yes to Me‘.
I love the warmth, informality and intimacy of the relationship between god and the speaker in this poem. No smells or bells needed here for a sense of communion with the divine! The way the speaker breaks off to gloss god’s comments is charming; it also gives a sense that the speaker is catching up a listener—or reader—about this chat she she and god had had, in much the same way as she might pass on news of a relative, mutual friend, or anyone else they both knew. Of course, the pedant in me delights in (and relates to!) the way the most wondrous thing to believe in the poem is that ‘[not] paragraph[ing]/ my letters’ is really, truly ok. Really? Really? Imagine that!
Most of all, though, I love the way how acceptance is at the heart of the poem. ‘God says Yes to Me’ invites us to try on the idea that we might be ok-enough, no matter what: that we might be free to choose, to take responsibility, to make decisions, to be loved—to be lovable just exactly how we are. I imagine the speaker’s voice slowing with wonder, spacing out those final three words, to make room for the relief and amazement to bloom. Is it ok to be me? ‘Yes Yes Yes’.
Lovely affirming poem!
Yes yes yes!