Skip Navigation

Belief Again

by Joe Glaser  

In the beginning the precocious child
camecrying      pleading     even offering God
exotic“You do and I will” contracts.

But with no reply a seed of disbelief was sown.

Over time it sprouted a sapling

rooted in the fertile soil of intellect
grew and matured like a many-legged banyan tree
festooned with ancient and modern proofs of secularity.

Disbelief had sufficed and reigned for a lifetime.

Unchallenged ruler until now

when the cape of age enfolds him
stresses upend equilibrium
and mysterious unconscious mind
slyly unfurls the God banner
tattered but still serviceable.

And he is the pleading child again.

Oh, no...he says

quickly!   quickly!   take control!
hammer the deviant thoughts back down     whack!     whack!
grimly psyching himself to tough-out
the trauma that stoked their revival.

Whew…that was a close one!

Curious

how long-buried belief
rises up from the depths
like a wreck relaunched
by an underwater quake.

Dangling newly burnished relics for salvage.

By Joe Glaser

Joseph ("Joe") Glaser, originally educated in science and technology, spent most of his career in computer-related activities. In retirement, he immersed himself in liberal arts and began writing poetry in 2008. Some of his poems have appeared in The Journal, published by Northwestern University's OLLI program, the online journal Front Porch Review, the online Decades Review, the online Muses’ Gallery of Highland Park Poetry, the published Journal of Modern Poetry (JOMP-16 best modern poem prize), and Distilled Voices published by the Illinois State Poetry Society. Joe is also a candid photographer, especially when traveling, and his photos have been published in some of the same media as his poems. His e-mail address: