pencil

did god use a pencil
to draw the world
was he tempted to use
the eraser too?

is that how the flood happened
did he pencil in our humanity
only to erase it hastily
the black streaks blotting out the sun
and salvation for sinners

was it a #2
did the lead mark our hearts permanently
for damnation
as he frivolously scribbled
tearing apart the fabric of peace and justice
carelessly poking at our fragile souls

and if god really used a pencil
to draw the world
did he just hand it over to us
dull and nibbled
to use as we saw fit

our pencil from god
eking out borders
as the tip breaks off
stealing erasers to draw new lines
over the old
tearing the page frantically
as we cross out the names of our neighbors
taking credit for work not ours

drawing all over the earth
erasing
trees
water
air
land
food
dignity
kindness

is this what happened

or, instead
did God form the earth from paper
carefully folding it into art
our origami origins
delicately set inside the universe

did he ask us to handle it gently
did he offer tape and glue to fix the torn edges
did he give us a tree to hang it from
so we could look outside and see a masterpiece

if so, what did we do with that tree
our origami earth is missing
there's a stump in its place

did we craft our own pencils
out of its bark
to draw fences and walls
good for hiding behind and fighting over
afraid to tell God
we lost the earth
when we felled the tree

is this what happened

I don't know

but sometimes
when I am sleeping
I find seeds and paper in my bed
with softly spoken instructions
to plant
and fold
and plant
and fold