do you believe in god?

it’s funny how we toss around a word like “god”. i suppose that god is as loaded as the text of personals classifieds. god means different things to the hellfire and damnation southern baptist preacher, the dalai lama, the guy writing this post today, the guy writing another post tomorrow, the wiccan, the young man fidgeting with a cigarrette in the trenches, the old man gasping sporadic breath in bed.

gandhi, jesus and joseph smith died with the name of god on their lips (brigham young’s last words, by contrast, were “joseph, joseph, joseph”). a woman cries out “ohgod ohgod ohgod ohgod” while riding on her illicit lover; her husband shouts “god damn you, woman” as he walks in on her; her paramour then desperately pleads, “please god, let me live”, with all the sincerity that accompanies the fear of death. are all of these “gods” the same?

god only knows::