The Question That Can Never Be Answered

When one hears about a disaster
such as the one that recently occurred
in Haiti where perhaps as many
as two hundred thousand people died
it's hard to believe that there could be
a loving and kind God who cares for us:
and in the aftermath it seems that
governments and armies mean more then
any notion of God who might love us.
But for me, in my heart, when I ask
myself questions on what to do, well then--
It appears to me that someone other
than myself is answering me--
answers that I would not have expected,
answers coming deeper than myself.
If I listen very carefully, still
there is an answer, as Paul would say,
and the answer is more than, "Let it be."
When I am in need of counsel and I
listen very carefully I can
hear a voice older than time, speaking,
telling me to do the right thing, always.
Is this just the voice of my conscience?
Perhaps. Maybe. But it is also
the voice of reason, truth, and I think, God.
Now, a cynic (and I have been one too)
would say, what about madmen? What do they
hear? What about their followers? What do
they hear and say? My answer is this:
Does it make sense in your heart? What about
if you talked it over with your friends?
Would it make sense to them? Does it sound
reasonable? God strikes me as being
very reasonable. Really. Really.
What I hear is do the best you can and I
will take care of you. And I hear, Trust me.
I will explain everything in due time.
Conscience? Reason? It doesn't sound like me.
But I like what I hear. And I trust it.
Am I just talking to myself? Who knows.
I don't think so, but this is the question
that can never be answered by someone
other than yourself. A matter of faith?
It's ultimately what you can believe
and whether you can have faith in this God.
It's a question of what you can believe.

Jean Jones was born in Indonesia in 1964, received a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Poetry from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio in 1988, and is currently co-editor of Word Salad Poetry Magazine, an online poetry magazine that can be found at the following website: http://wordsaladpoetrymagazine.com/drupal7/

Find more by Jean Jones in the Author Index.

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