previous | next
 
 
 


GOD THE UNBELIEVER
God! Tell me the truth!
My enemies say:
               “Everybody wants . . .” and so on.
And my enemies’ enemies say:
               “Everybody wants . . .” and so on.
As for me, since you created all of them and all of them,
I still – being assured of your integrity and justness –
Raise my hand
Like a schoolchild threatened with expulsion,
But, without end,
Getting no one’s permission to say a thing.

God! Oh God!
God of the worms, the vegetation, the cattle and the creatures that weep
Have you been mocking me, perhaps?! . .
What everybody says means that there’s an “everybody” which is right
               And another “everybody” which is also right.
What everybody says means that I don’t exist.
What everybody says means that nobody except everybody exists.
What they say means
              That you’ve been mocking me.


 
Poet's Note: Read by Asad Jaber at the Poetry International Festival, Rotterdam, June 2011