Death of God and Iambic Pentameter, by Lee Stockdale

La Gioconda, or, The Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci (Italy) 1503-1517

Death of God and Iambic Pentameter

No one wants to talk about God 
these days of fear and oppression,
or walk in the garden of iambic pentameter
or put God and poetry together in the same sentence.

What a drag a life sentence without God or meter,
but life with fear 
because fear feels real,
when all else fails 
to rouse the great passions.

All that’s left after fear is gone
is God, the universe, iambic pentameter,
what we’re talking about is the smile of a woman, 
what is she smiling about?
Is it even a smile? Maybe a half smile.

She’s in Paris in the rain in an impressionist painting,
maybe she’s smiling at you and me,
looking far away and aghast at a future
where there is no God or iambic pentameter.

Lee Stockdale

​Lee Stockdale lives in Asheville where he labors over the octopus tentacles of Forgiveness, his second novel. He holds an MFA from Queens University, Charlotte, NC, and a BA from the University of Washington, Seattle.