Genesis

Genesis

A Short Poem Written By Leb Mofsky

God dragged his finger along the earth

and said, Let there be

Gwangju River. And so it was.

And it was good.

 

The water flowed, but the land was bare.

​God said, Let there be

​plants and animals. He made

​the sharp-beaked heron

​shimmering fish

​and the snake. God saw it

​and was pleased.

 

He leaned in the shade of the willow

​and said, Let this be

​a place of healing.

​He brought a man

​and a woman

​to rest beside the softly flowing river.

 

And so it was. And it was good.

 

But soon there were strange doings at Gwangju River.

​For the man hid himself

​behind a large black net, and played

​mysterious games.

​The woman hid herself

​in pants, long-sleeved shirts, masks, visors and hats

​and walked vigorously

​as if the river were something to get past.

 

God saw it, and was perplexed.

 

They installed a PA system

​and played The Godfather Theme or James Bond instrumentals

​anything to drown out the river.

​They wore loud clothing

​with bright splotches of pink, purple, red, yellow and blue

​as if to mock the sun

​or compete with it.

​God saw it, and was distressed.

 

He wanted to nudge

​the man and woman back into righteousness.

​He sent two of his cherubim

​down to Gwangju River

​bearing spray cans and stencils

​to mark the path with great white arrows

​and the word 우측보행

​WALK ON THE RIGHT.

​God was subtle.

​But they ignored his gentle admonition

​walking left, right and center

​and even rode their bikes and scooters

​wherever it suited them best

​in great defiance.

 

God clenched his fists.

​He began to brew two great storms

​one in the east, and one in the west

​to collide above Gwangju River

​and wash it away, along with the man and woman.

 

Before he could release the great flood

​it happened that an angel came on urgent business.

​God was detained for two hours

​and he forgot about Gwangju River.

​So it remains to this day, as it was. Strangely doing.

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