Sculpture 101

(Published in Across the Long Bridge Anthology of Prize Winning Poems, 2005)

And God took a course
in Sculpture 101
just for fun

The materials intrigued him
the variations of creation never failed to amaze
he tried his hand at clay,
chipped away at stone
was especially delighted
with the attributes of marble
succeeded in rendering
smoothness from hardness

Wood was wonderful - he tried all kinds,
enjoyed the patterns in the grain,
loved to work with the whorls
to create strange and attractive objects

One day he was concentrating on clay,
bored somewhat with the arrays of shapes
hitherto explored to divine fullness,
and by chance constructed a form,
which he called human,
and just for fun,
caused it to breathe, talk,
created both a man, a woman
who then without questioning,
overran the planet in a fraction of a cosmic moment,
learned well a lust for destruction;
was no more intelligent than a golem

Too late to right this divine mistake,
next semester the Lord registered
for a course in Philosophy 101

Just for fun

© 2.2005 Helen Bar-Lev