Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Work as an act of creation


Made in an image of creator,
we have this compulsion to create,
to draw and paint our reality,
to orchestrate a symphony,
to write fiction from truth so as
to tell a greater truth from fiction,
to use brick and wood and stone
and steel and glass in configurations
impossible yet possible for buildings,
to build empires and invent
a better light bulb, to mix a new and
improved detergent, to grow
market share, to weld beams
in furnaces, stock a trade show booth
with swag, to find one more life
extending drug; each act of creation
a pilgrimage, alone and together,
on our knees up stairways, down
into darkness, to taste the waters
of Lourdes and climb the centuries
of Mount Athos, each act,
each instance, each step the hunger
to find the face of God.

This poem is submitted for Open Link Night at dVerse Poets. To see more poems, please visit the site. The links will be live at 2 p.m. Central time today.

Photograph: Street Artist by Michael Drummond via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.


My reading of "Work as an act of creation:"

Work as an act of creation by Glynn2

23 comments:

ayala said...

Beautifully written..enjoyed listening to it, Glynn. I love the ending as well.

Maureen said...

A profound commentary. You show us in the poem how we can take creating to the silly extreme ("a better light bulb, to mix a new and / improved detergent") but suggest also it's inseparable from our being, what makes us human.

There is, I think, something deeply spiritual about the work of the hands, especially when we put them in service of Him. I want not so much to explain "this compulsion to create" but to live it out in a way that is not for me alone.

Anonymous said...

I have been noticing more and more how important creation is to our very being. And how even in the simplest act of mixing bread or writing lesson plans for the week, I find a bit of fulfillment in creating.

Anonymous said...

everything
we think
and do
what is
of the heart
we create

Michelle DeRusha said...

I love hearing you read this, Glynn! It helped me slow down and really soak it in, instead of rushing through it (as I sometimes do with poetry, I'm sorry to admit!).

Pat Hatt said...

Reading as well now your way. Really adds that much more to your piece, the compulsion to create hits us all, just as we can see from each dVerse blog wall.

Brian Miller said...

beautifully expressed...we are like the creator in our desire to create for sure...each in their own way bringing out new aspects of his glory....

Anonymous said...

Nice... enjoyed your reflections filled with so much truth.

Anonymous said...

Always that finger reaching out to feel the touch of God -- stretching ever further, poem after poem, to know the touch that fled when we were born. Fine poem, Glynn. - Brendan

Scarlet said...

I love the message of finding the face of God, in all the things we want to create.

Thanks for sharing this ~

Laurie Kolp said...

Glen- A powerful message beautifully conveyed. In the end it's just me (or you or them) and Him.

Susan DiMickele said...

Love this Glynn. It is a step -- and act in hunger to find God's face. Thanks for this.

Linda said...

"the hunger to find the face of God." Such a beautiful way to describe this pull to create.
I have been thinking about all the different ways we are artists - every single one of us. You have put my thoughts into a wonderful poem.

Tashtoo said...

There are those born to create, who can not function unless they are. It's a shame our world has lost touch with itself, to the point where so many sacrifice their very beings just so they can have a roof over their heads and food on the table. We need a Renaissance, something to lift the creators up, and let their voices rings. I know for a fact, it would be a better world.

S. Etole said...

seeking His face ... the hunger never stills

Unknown said...

I used to wrestle with my need to create. I thought it frivolous for a long time until I came to terms with the truth of that desire. This is lovely.

Kathleen Overby said...

This is one of my favorite pieces since I've been reading your words. Mature wisdom here. Create. Everyday. What a wonderful world.

Anonymous said...

An interesting commentary - and certainly a uniquely beautiful way of looking at the world and our toils through it. To create - divine. Would that we could all always see the face of God in what we wrought...

Patricia said...

each act of creation
a pilgrimage, alone and together,
on our knees up stairways, down
into darkness, to taste the waters
of Lourdes and climb the centuries
of Mount Athos, each act,
each instance, each step the hunger
to find the face of God.

How beautiful... thank you.
wish I could have met you face to face. =)

Beachanny said...

So much a part of my psyche (and yours)that when I meet a person who has no obvious interest in creating anything (and I have) I am non-plussed. I guess you have enunciated here why. It feels like meeting the absence of God.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed both listening and reading this poem. This has to be one of my favorites that you have written

Ann LeFlore said...

I love that guys work and have been following him around for so long thanks this is so well done and love your poem
http://gatelesspassage.com/2011/10/18/farewell-my-three-legged-friend/

Maxwell Mead Williams Robinson Barry said...

the search for meaning of life will never end,
that's why God is there for everyone's take and imaginations.

enjoyed the word flow, and your sentiments are extraordinary, a fundamental topic is elegantly explored here.

way to go!