God left the names
︎︎︎ Toby Shorin
︎ Apr 8, 2025
God left the names of creatures to his pets
Shouldering moleskin we rubbed our face in
He grinned, and out the door he went, saying
"I'll be back."
Back turned to us and night covered all the world.
Left to the stars and the dark, left to words.
You can build a fire with them, we soon learned.
And the tongues warmed our hands with the outbreath.
Enamored of heart, golden sky alike
What we saw in morning, from dew to mist
To breaking light of day, legacy of
Father Absentee. Speak some of those words,
Heat the stone and fill your chest with tremors.
Perhaps he'll pick up a vibrating rib
Come back to settle the empty temple
Where echoes among buttresses cast shapes.
Shouldering moleskin we rubbed our face in
He grinned, and out the door he went, saying
"I'll be back."
Back turned to us and night covered all the world.
Left to the stars and the dark, left to words.
You can build a fire with them, we soon learned.
And the tongues warmed our hands with the outbreath.
Enamored of heart, golden sky alike
What we saw in morning, from dew to mist
To breaking light of day, legacy of
Father Absentee. Speak some of those words,
Heat the stone and fill your chest with tremors.
Perhaps he'll pick up a vibrating rib
Come back to settle the empty temple
Where echoes among buttresses cast shapes.
Toby Shorin is a writer and the cofounder of research organization Other Internet. He believes that epic poetry is still possible today.
Also by Toby: Seeing quietly your hands