Theodicy

16 July 2022

The Nazis proved that God's law
can be violated with impunity
for a time. It was, after all, America
who stopped them. God was mute.
And if there still be any who would claim
that Auschwitz fits some higher plan,
I say I do not wish to serve such Planning
or a God who makes such plans.
With this, I often wonder
if Herr Hitler has his final laugh,
for though, of course, we beat them,
one long draught of their Nepenthe
has us losing our identity.
They proved that God is silent
in the midst of desperate anguish.
Who believes now that he listens?
Do the screams not matter much
to his big mind? But let us alter here,
and ask God what he is. We may be wrong
without discarding years of questions. We may ask
without demanding certain answers. We may think
without deciding in advance. Must God use reason? Why?