APOTHEOSIS
When I was a boy,
god was a bearded old man–
an unapproachable Father
who came down from the mountain
with a long, long list of naughty and nice.
In my prodigal youth,
god was a lawless young man–
a coming-of-age Adventurer
who chose self over service,
growing up over buckling down.
When I grew up,
god became a long-legged Goddess,
breathlessly beautiful and mellifluously mine
on moon-lit nights.
After the war,
god was a grim Reaper
bleeding my world of art, leaves and common sense.
Now,
with the years piled up like pages in a book,
one on top of the other,
god is a Mother
birthing and nursing our times together
and apart…
only She knows,
when it’s time to say goodbye,
what severance we will suffer,
the separation we must endure.
Billy Dean is a retired technical writer with a bachelors degree in English Composition. He has written articles for trade journals, been a newspaper columnist, performed poetry at open mic events, and had poems, stories, essays and how-to guides published in newspapers and magazines and on the Internet. His most recent craft essays have been published in Page & Spine.
