God is a Wild Animal
God is a wild animal
So I take the time
To step away
To stray off into the wilderness
Till the Florida pines become mangroves
The water brackish, then saline
I wade past the sand bar
I see a pod of dolphins
Their grey, blue, black fins
Glisten in the sun
I reach out my hand
Full faith facing open water
Some days they swim close
And I get a glimpse
Of something new
Something a nature show
Could never have shown me
Some days nothing at all
But that first crested fin
And they are off in the distance
I feel their presence but out of sight
Occasionally they swim by so fast
I only see the movement
The effect
The water displaced
Waves cresting my face
Vibrations in the deep
But if I keep coming back
To the same place each day
If I come and wait
Still as the rocks beneath my feet
We meet
Two creatures
Completely familiar strangers
Testing the waters of grace
And I think
If God is like me
Perhaps she
Is just as afraid
To trust a new spirit
Perhaps my reached out hand
Feels so different from the sand and water
That she is hesitant
Or perhaps she is just waiting
For my hands to grip more tightly
A signal that I might be
Ready to leave the land behind
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Phillip Estes is a poet from Texas. He wrote this piece while living in Florida.
