The Wind That Blows Through Me

Alicia Ostriker, 1937

I feel the hand of God inside my hand
when I write said the old woman
I am blown away like a hat
I swear God’s needy hand is inside every atom
waving at us hoping we’ll wave back 

Sometimes I feel the presence
of the goddess inside me said the dark red tulip
and sometimes I see her
waltzing in the world around me
skirts flying though everything looks still

It doesn’t matter whether you call the thing
God or goddess those are only words
said the dog panting after a run through the park
and a sprint after a squirrel
theology is bunk but the springtime wind is real

From The Old Woman, the Tulip, and the Dog (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2014). Copyright © 2014 by Alicia Ostriker. Used with permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press.