Harpo Marx is my God
no longer
whenever I need Him
God is silent
except for some mournful hoots
on a bicycle horn
or tin harmonica
sly glancing finger
pointing directly to heaven
more than a saint
a beatific smile on His face

I could prove it any number of ways
but my mother always said
“In deontological arguments,
be precise.”
Harpo must be God
because
He’s so unpredictable

He’s funny
gives you a coffee when you ask for a quarter
lets the wall fall down when He walks away
pulls a sword and a fish from His pocket to open a door
makes faces when least appropriate

did He know silence
would speak louder than talkies ever would
did He know He would remain a manic child
for anyone who sees Him
staring back, still alive, though others
have been washed away
like sand swallowed by the sea

He taught me not to be afraid
He taught me laughter is not serious business
He taught me there’s a hunger for the eternal
in a moment of silence
He laughs before we do
cheeks bulbous, grotesque

He knows noise, He knows nonsense
He knows bravery in a lunatic way
never admitting the consequences
never tempted by explanations
He’ll always answer the phone
never says anything
but He’ll listen a lot
sometimes, He honks the horn

But He is no longer God
because God is further away than ever
I have not rehearsed this scene
and the Man over there with the fake blond curls
scares me silly

He’s chasing people, brandishing scissors
making them hold his leg
I’m holding a pistol
it’s only a prop
He can take it from me any moment

He knows it
leers at me as He
chases women
they’re scared too
God bless them

He stampedes everyone
then, transfigured by a grand piano
He opens the top, looks inside, dreams
plucks the strings, strums
entranced, He pushes the support and winces
as the lid crashes upon His hand
alpha the harp, omega the melody

waiting for a final grandiose gesture
we are all aware
something is missing
something left unsaid
He smiles at us in a way
no one has ever smiled before
we laugh like a congregation
relieved of our sins

He turns, races to the exit
disappears
leaves us wondering
does God really exist?