Every Riven Thing
God goes, belonging to every riven thing He's made
Sing his being simply by being
The thing it is:
Stone and tree and sky,
Man who sees and sings and wonders why
God goes. Belonging, to every riven thing He's made,
Means a storm of peace.
Think of the atoms inside the stone.
Think of the man who sits alone
Trying to will himself into the stillness where
God goes belonging. To every riven thing He's made
There is given one shade
Shaped exactly to the thing itself:
Under the tree a darker tree;
Under the man the only man to see
God goes belonging to every riven thing. He's made
The things that bring Him near,
Made the mind that makes Him go.
A part of what man knows,
Apart from what man knows,
God goes belonging to every riven thing He's made.
Christian Wiman
I've been reading Wiman for a few years now. This is a poem that needs little comment other than to hear the author read it here.
This comes from an astonishing interview with Wiman recalling his life growing up in Texas. If you want to hear the full interview with Krista Tippett it's over here.
As a taster of how this remarkable man's mind works, here's just one quote:
I am convinced that the same God that might call me to sing of God at
one time might call me at another to sing of godlessness. Sometimes when
I think of all of this energy that's going on, all of these different
people trying to find some way of naming and sharing their belief, I
think it may be the case that God calls some people to unbelief in order
that faith can take new forms.
…………………………………………….
The photo above was taken on Inverbervie beach – those smooth, sea shaped stones are amongst my favourite things in Scotland. I can happily meander along that rocky beach taking pleasure in the coulours, shapes, arrangement and sound of those stones being pushed and pulled by the waves. The phot below is of another of God's creatures who likes the same beach.
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