.

He Who Was

Omnipotence, omniscience
__and there’s omnipresence too.
If you possess those qualities,
__there’s nothing you can’t do.
Be here and there, both now and then,
__while acing each exam.
And when you introduce yourself,
__you’d say call me “I Am.”

You’d be in tune with everything,
__regardless of how small.
The interwoven universe
__all at your beck and call.
A new star here, new species there,
__new matter from thin air.
And you’d exist each moment while
__you could be everywhere.

Creating life from lifeless lumps
__of inorganic clay.
Impossible for others but
__for you is child’s play.
To top things off, of course you’d make
__a species with a soul.
You’d make them in your image and
__include full self-control.

They’d love you when they need you just
__like selfish children do.
At times like that, they’d heed you, and
__they might just worship too.
But when their lives were good and on
__occasion just because,
if they made a new name for you,
__it would be “He Who Was.”

Your massive mind might just be stumped,
__unsure of what to do
when your ungrateful creatures chose
__to turn their backs on you.
Perhaps a flood to warn them or
__a sign that you’re still there.
Your massive mind might even ask
__the reason you still care.

The easiest of answers would
__be just to start again,
and build another planet with
__entirely new men.
Your newly minted model would
__no longer have a mind.
Each person would act perfect just
__the way they were designed.

We often think God isn’t good
__since everything looks flawed,
but we don’t look inside to see
__how flawed we look to God.
Initial sin infects us and
__it has done since the Fall,
but God in His great goodness made
__a way to save us all.

.

.

Warren Bonham is a private equity investor who lives in Southlake, Texas.

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18 Responses

  1. Gigi Ryan

    Dear Warren,
    Very well said. I love your verse about how God could just start again with a new planet. He doesn’t give up on us and I needed to hear that today. Thank you.
    Gigi

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      Thanks! I don’t understand why he doesn’t start over, but I’m glad he hasn’t given up on us.

      Reply
  2. Roy Eugene Peterson

    What a great set of concepts embedded in this poem that draw substance from biblical texts and expounds on god-like thinking related to the giving of free will that includes sin and ungratefulness. He could have made this a forgotten planet and forbidden access to heaven, yet He chose to strive with mankind and remain available and protective if we only ask for help. This is one for me to save and savor. Great poem with outstanding writing and rhythm

    Reply
  3. Dick Lackman

    This poem really puts life in perspective. Through my own experiences I have learned 2 things: there is a God and I’m not him.

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      Most people don’t learn either lesson. You have a lot more wisdom than most people.

      Reply
  4. Phil S.Rogers

    We often think God isn’t good since everything looks flawed, but we don’t look inside to see how flawed we look to God.” That one line says so much.
    Thank you Warren.

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      I like that line as well. I have to give credit to Evan for helping me polish it.

      Reply
  5. David Paul Behrens

    An infinite amount of different entities, God is everything and everywhere, all at once and forever. As individual humans, it’s all beyond our comprehension, but we are all God, talking to each other. Jesus realized this, spoke about it and was crucified for doing so. The purpose of all of this is for God to have something to do.

    An interesting concept for a poem. I like it.

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      It’s impossible to fully capture concepts that human minds don’t have the capacity to understand but it’s also impossible not to try. I don’t know how close this came to the mark, but I’m glad you liked it.

      Reply
  6. C.B. Anderson

    In the beginning of the poem, Warren, you neglected to mention the godhead’s most important attribute: omnibenevolence.

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      We can’t be all-knowing, ever-present or all-powerful. In theory, we could be completely benevolent but we all fall shockingly short of hitting even that mark.

      Reply
  7. Margaret Coats

    Warren has not neglected the attribute of omnibenevolence or “good will toward all.” He carefully and rightly includes it in two important parts of the poem. First is his description of God’s giving one species “full self-control” or free will. God did not give this sublime gift to all creatures; it is not His good will for all to use free will and potentially imagine themselves gods. Can you imagine the chaos throughout creation? Warren does so as he tells of human ingratitude. But at the end of the poem “God in his great goodness made a way to save us all.” This includes everything as well as every person when we take into account the promised redemption awaited by creation when full redemption of man comes about. But notice that even here God does not act to save all. There is only “a way” for those of free will. This is often misunderstood. Mistranslation of what angels say at Christmas yields “peace and good will to men.” What they say is “peace to men of good will.” Those of bad will do not want peace, and will not take it on God’s terms. As Warren says, this has been the situation since the Fall.

    Warren, you have my full admiration for being able to treat this subject, the rejection and denial of God, in an accurate perspective with the attention-getting forces of lighter tone and rhythm. The portions of your poem that mock human pride and illogic can be praised as an excellent exercise in Horatian satire; that’s the classic type revealing human flaws in a way clear enough to suggest disastrous implications, and yet good-natured enough to prompt readers to recognize themselves. Too many of us flawed sinners want to reserve God’s providence for ourselves on our own terms, while condemning others who just might be saved on God’s terms. This poem is an amusing and effective generalizing of the matter.

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      Thank you for the supportive comments that also served to educate me on several fronts. I am guilty of going through the motions and repeating lines (and not exclusively when it comes to lines in Christmas carols) without reflecting upon their accuracy or true meaning. I also intend to learn more about Horatian satire. It sounds like a genre I would very much enjoy!

      Reply
  8. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    I love the concept. I love the rhyme and rhythm. I love everything about this poem, Warren, especially the hope and glory of the closing four lines. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      Thanks! That means a lot coming from you. I do have to give Evan a lot of credit for his helpful feedback on the last stanza. The right set of independent eyeballs can be a big help.

      Reply
  9. Peg

    Wonderful… and what Truth brilliantly expressed. I so enjoyed this, thank you, Mr Bonham!

    Reply
  10. Sally Cook

    Very fine work indeed.
    How difficult it must be to speak on such a level.. I could never do it.

    Reply

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