by Daniel Aum

I wonder what number draft earth is;
how many takes did God attempt?

Are we the 3rd draft,
after the uninhabitable Venus and Mars,

or are we the first crappy draft,
where He just machine-gunned the raw ideas down? 

I know He looked upon His creation, and saw that it was “good,”
but was it like, good good or merely good 
enough?

And did He ever suffer from writer’s block?
We are fearfully and wonderfully made, the Psalmist might answer,
yes, but for some of us
was it fearful to start and wonderful to finish?

I just want to know,
is earth the final polished version,

or is it His lab, where He practices his craft every day,
painting every pink and blue sky,
dressing every leaf in a veiny green suit,

creating puddles with the proper width and depth for a child to splash in,
pushing an afternoon breeze that reminds a widow of the good times with her husband,

where He saves all the best parts for heaven,
and the worst for hell.

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Daniel Aum is a lawyer and researcher based in Atlanta, GA. He also occasionally writes poetry.