Miracles 101

When under stress,
Grasping at the hem of Christ’s garment
As though at straws,
Praying for this or that—for employment,
Wisdom, healing—
Whatever particular lament
Has got you kneeling,
Do you sometimes wonder if God can’t?
Can’t give you peace,
Or food on the table, money for rent,
Simple surcease
Of pain?  I, when troubled, invent
A syllogism-
Like series of questions, expressly meant
(Think of a prism)
To delineate God’s might and intent.

Can He yet provide,
Despite a lull prolonged, a job, a cure?
Did His feet not ride
Upon the tossed and plunging waves, secure
In step and stride?
And was this more difficult than taking pure,
Plain water aside,
And turning it to wine instantly mature?
He multiplied
Two fish and five loaves of bread, feeding
A crowd that cried
For free refreshments at the meeting.
A friend who had died
Harkened to Christ’s voice, and Lazarus
Stirred, blinking inside
His tomb. This was a more fabulous
Feat of power
Than setting up a livelihood for you
Out of nowhere,
Or ameliorating symptoms of your flu!

Not impressed? Not
Quite persuaded? Need another clue?
Like a clot,
The sea stiffened, letting Israel through.
Out of clay,
Man was fashioned; from nothingness, a slew
Of suns, day
And night, water, land, and air, on cue,
Appeared.  Before that,
There was God alone, and the only view
He had, where He sat,
Was of Chaos.  With it came a notion: you.