Doubts creep in like a vine
Doubts creep in like a vine
crawling up a wall, and I wonder:
Are You there, God? Up there—in heaven?
Above the clouds? Beyond the blue sky?
Where I can’t see?
Or are You hiding somewhere else—
behind that tree or inside that flower
where a butterfly is whispering
its secret prayer to You?
Maybe You are the voice I hear
when I write these words.
Maybe You are the air I breathe,
the golden light of dawn, the songs
that birds sing?
Maybe these doubts are just an illusion
You create to see if we are seeking You
sincerely, to see if we will persist in our
search or just give up.
Or maybe the doubts are Your way of
asking a question, a way of drawing us
closer to You?
Bruce Black is editorial director of The Jewish Writing Project. His poetry and personal essays have appeared in numerous publications, including Write-Haus, Soul-Lit, The BeZine, Bearings, Super Poetry Highway, Poetica, Lehrhaus, Atherton Review, Elephant Journal, Tiferet, Hevria, Jewthink, The Jewish Literary Journal, The Reform Jewish Quarterly, Mindbodygreen, and Chicken Soup for the Soul. He lives in Highland Park, IL.
Amethyst Review 