close the holy books
and place them back on the shelf
we were told as children
the scriptures are the word of god
but they were written in ink by men
and we know that humans
tend to place themselves on the 
highest podium in the room

if there really was a Moses
and god spoke the words 
I AM
through a burning bush
or whether it was a story
crafted to reach out 
to awaken our souls

I believe it

a true loving creator would say
I AM everything
I AM the parables that Jesus spoke
I AM the compassion of the Buddha
I AM the peace in Hindu meditation
I AM the light inside you 
and I refuse to let you smother my flame

we all may be traveling down 
different spiritual rivers
in our decrepit canoes
trying to paddle upstream
and bail out the water 
that threatens to sink us
as the rapids rock us
and the eddies pull

turn your tiny boat around
and let the river carry you
downstream
that is the purpose 
of this crazy life
we may all be on different rivers
but they will meet
eventually
at the same ocean