in 7 days//on the 7th day he rested

where were you 7 days ago
when the earth was 
only a fist full of
dark//light ?

1.
God holds paint
swatches to the walls--
decides on dark & light--
holds a paint bucket
in each fist--
pries off lids with
his finger nails-- 
splatter the living
room walls
of heaven & earth--
he uses a thin brush to fling
stars into place--
Jackson Pollock style--
flick of his wrist--
there i am-- the altar
boy-- following behind
him while he dips 
the aspergillum-- holy
water holy water 
rained & then became sleet--
i can't remember what i 
did yesterday &
in one day God made 
separated light from dark--
he made the heavens & the earth--
rolled out speckled
carpet in the living room--
made windows with
a box-cutter-- waited
for paint to dry
& that was a day

2.
i can barely keep
my roof from caving
in & there god was--
tossing the sky into
place like pizza dough--
spin spinning spun--
higher & higher 
until there it 
was-- the sky 
everyone's body
has felt coming down
on top of them-- is 
that why humans are so
in love with rain?

3.
a pack of model magic--
first god rolls a snake--
like everyone does when
they first start playing
with model magic 
& then he decides
the house is nothing
with out land-- builds
a model train universe 
& leaves out the tracks--
kisses the fresh earth
& there grow sequoia & 
evergreen-- there grow
grass-- spreading &
spreading a green green fire--
& god made the continents 
& the plants & 
of course it was good &
i forget to water
my bonsai-- it becomes
a parched torso--

4.
a match stick--
god lights a cigarette for
himself & then the sun--
a white birthday--
turns on a flash light &
leaves it
on his end table for 
the moon--
what a days work?
sometimes my day
is spent just trying
to keep both the 
sun & the moon from
loosing each 
other to loneliness

5.
God wades into
the Mediterranean-- a nude
beach not yet nude--
lays out a purple beach towel--
one by one teaching the water
to breathe air--
teaching the water to have
fins or tentacles--
from the water he made
sea creatures & still had enough
time to build a sand castle--
at sunset he stomping
it with his bare feet
& laughing a thunder storm 
over head--
& i open my bed room
window to watch the sky
ache with blue veins--

6.
to the park sandbox--
the castle gave him the
idea for land animals--
their bodies born  
of mulch & dirt & 
snapped twigs-- the deer--
her eyes already flashing
in head lights--
with all the animals done  
God sat down on
a bench beneath the 
shrugging elm tree--split
the tree until it was soft
& afraid-- peeling back bark 
until she//he//they stood
before God-- naked
at the local park--
God thought it was amusing
& pretended
to just be there feeding
the pigeons
while adam & eve
touch each  other for
the first time &
are so scared of
the thinness of
their own flesh-- they're
so scared of breaking--
no that wasn't when god
made me-- i took awhile 
i think god made 
as an idea that night
as he lay on a park bench 
wondering when
the seventh day would come
so he could rest--
he watched bats glide
tree to tree &  
their shadows across the moon
made him think of me--
he saw me-- the pebble
shape of my nose--
my laugh like waves
turning into dolphin on 
the fifth day--
i don't make life
like him-- i take
out my ribs for each poem--
each poem is a man--
walking naked & 
looking to scorn me--
eat my apple trees bare

7.
rest-- 
whatever rest there could
be for a world coughing
below your feet
& god said-- i'll rest
i'll rest i'll rest now--
repeated it like a mother--
i'll just rest my eyes for
a minute &
there god came in my
bed room door &
laid on my teal  blanket 
by my bed-- shut his eyes &
said it was good it
was good 
it was good

& i don't rest
because the 7th day
is just another day--
i wake up with
words in my mouth
& the water is still
busy becoming a school
of dolphins & eve & adam
are still out their--
trying to  understand
why god made their 
flesh so so 
thin