(Poem 283 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)
“Then Yahweh Elohim formed humans from the dust of the ground and breathed into the nostrils the breath of life; and humans became living beings.” Genesis 2:7
The Mongolian god
Ulgen created the first man
from clay floating on the water.
The Bornean bird spirits
Ara and Irik used clay
and the sound of their voices.
In Ijaw tradition,
Woyengi fashioned humans
from earth
that fell from the sky.
Wonder Woman was sculpted
from clay by Hippolyta.
The goddess Aruru
created humans out of clay
according to the Epic of Gilgamesh.
And in the Korean Seng-gut,
humans are made from red clay.
The Chinese Nüwa
molded figures
from the yellow earth.
Vietnamese tales describe
Ngọc Hoàng and the Twelve Bà mụ
making people from clay.
The Qur’an, Torah, and Christian Bible
say Yahweh and his angels
fashioned humans from dust
in their image.
@Home Studio – 283rd poem of the year
Bible Hub. Lexicon, Genesis 2:7, https://biblehub.com/lexicon/genesis/2-7.htm
Runner ups for the Clay Man photos to accompany my poem:
rebekahjmarshall 