The Thou Shalt Nots

June 7 2016

It has rained for days.

A cold wind

penetrating wool, slickers

window frames.

Saturated earth,

with tell-tale footprints

brimming full.

Leaves, plastered down,

trees, bearing the weight

of too much water.

The constant drip-drip-drip.

The driven rain

in sudden squalls

and sodden downpours.

But after the storm

it’s as if the air had been washed clean

earth reborn,

The sky, a luminous blue,

clouds

white, and weightless.

But mostly, the quality of light,

sharpening edges,

illuminating

with cool clear brilliance.

After the flood

God promised Noah

He would destroy no more.

Like the thou shalt nots

of His commandments,

all prohibition

interdiction

forbidden acts.

But what about the shalls?

The making of beauty, the doing of good?

The benevolent God,

who celebrates creation

beams down on His works?

Even a rainbow

in its immaculate arc;

hot sun

warming replenished soil.

As I’ve said before, even a devout atheist is free to use Biblical imagery. The capitalization is a mere courtesy.

This is really a contrast between the Old Testament God – who seems stern, and full of wrath – with the New Testament deity – who is more about forgiveness and love.

Or it could be read as a kind of pagan pantheism, in which “God” is merely a convenient symbol and the “covenant” a common cultural touchstone:  an expression of spiritual uplift at the beauty of the natural world – no superstition or dogma required. My preferred reading, of course!

I like how the gravity of the archaic "the thou shalt nots" immediately prompts the reader to complete the litany. This was originally "the do nots", which I thought might leave the reader scratching her head for second or two, trying to figure out just what I was getting at. 

 The Quality of Light was the original title. Because that’s where the poem began, and what I originally set out trying to capture in words. I glanced out the window at the sun breaking through a clear blue sky, and was taken with the clarity of light; as if the air had been washed clean of all impurities. I still think it's a great title. But really, how could I resist as cryptic and inscrutable a title as The Thou Shalt Nots?!!