by Rich Orloff (New York, NY)
Grapple with me, says God
I do not ask you to believe in me
Or extol me
Or worship me
These are orders humans have decreed
But grapple with me
Not for my sake
But for yours
Would you feel you lived if you had never seen the color blue
(and you had a chance)
Would you feel you lived if you had never heard music
(and you had a chance)
I offer you this opportunity
To grapple with me
And if you don’t know how to start
Ask questions
What are my dimensions?
Where do I reside?
What are my office hours?
Ask patiently
Then ask again
Ask a third time, just for fun
Ask a fourth time, just in case
And a fifth time, so asking can become a habit
Please
Grapple with me
I may not provide the answers you wish for
But if you let me
I will show you the colors and sounds you’ve missed
Rich Orloff writes both poems and plays. His poems have been published in The Poet, Fragments (published by T’ruah), and Fresh Words magazines, and they’ve been presented at churches and synagogues, performed in theaters and schools, read at meditation and yoga groups, and spoken at events both lofty and intimate. Rich’s plays include the Purim-themed musical comedy Esther in the Spotlight (performed so far in New York, Toronto and Tel Aviv), the comedic revue OY! (over 50 productions in the United States – and one in Bulgaria), and many more, of all lengths, styles and subjects. Rich’s plays have had over two thousand performances on six continents – and a staged reading in Antarctica. More at www.richorloff.com.
The Jewish Writing Project 
I like GRappling very much; it captures the essence of thinking about God and the wonders of our earthly existence…
Interesting idea, I’ve listened to Jordan Peterson talk about this concept. It makes much more sense to me that the relationship should be mostly praise and worship, not like two equals wrestling, isn’t it kind of maniacal to think that you can wrestle with God? Even Jacob got injured (Christian here)
Maybe getting flattened by a much more experienced and powerful opponent is more accurate 😆
But I like the poem, it’s interesting to think about 🙂