The speaker in Scott Poole’s “The Bible” reveals himself agnostic in matters of religion and God. His musings simply skim the surface of materiality and do not delve into anything spiritual; thus, the piece remains secular and secure from the anti-moralizing that such exercises often engender.
First Versagraph: “Just in case”
Just in case there is a God and the Holy Bible is, in fact, the word of God, and that such things matter in the lives of humankind, the speaker can boast that he has one and that “It’s over there.”
This terse versagraph reveals much about the speaker: he does not worship, probably doubts the very existence of Deity, likely is convinced that those who do “worship” are not as intelligent as he is, but . . . he has a slight inkling, a backburner mini-thought that if those silly worshippers are correct, then well, he’s got it covered. He has one of those silly Bibles, and if you don’t believe it, well, it’s right over there. See!
Second Versagraph: “Because you have to have at least one”
The second versagraph’s first line seems to belong to the first versagraph, but by placing it in the second, the speaker softens his contempt for the assertion: everybody has to have “at least one” Bible. There is a convention, probably a useless one, that everyone has to have at least one Bible—just in case, of course.
But then the speaker leaves behind his rather disdainful implications to focus on a pure fantasy that he has concocted after reading the “inscription / to [his] wife’s grandmother.” The inscription is “[t]he part [he reads] the most.” Notice how he maintains his agnosticism by saying “read[s] the most.”
An atheist would claim that the inscription is the only thing he reads—if he admitted to opening the Bible at all. But this speaker implies that he actually does read some of the book from time to time, while at the same time his claim lets the reader know that he takes worldly things much more seriously.
Third Versagraph: “I imagine God at a book signing”
While having nothing to say about any other part of the Bible that he might have read, the speaker then takes the reader on the little imaginary journey that is motivated by the inscription to the grandmother.
The speaker “imagine[s] God at a book signing.” God signs the grandmother’s Bible: “Dear Eva, thanks for worshipping.” Light-hearted, amusing—or perhaps a large dose of whistling past the cemetery. Again, the difference between a hard-nosed atheist and potentially softhearted agnostic is evident.
The speaker is once again covered: if his imaginary scenario is, in fact, blasphemous, at least did not have God have say something outrageous; after all, he is not channeling Bill Maher about it. What could be offensive about thanking “Eva” for worshipping?
(The reader might wonder if the poet is so lucky as to have a grandmother-in-law whose name was actually “Eva,” or is this name part of the imaginary scenario? And if his grandfather-in-law were “Adam,” he might have so much more to consider.)
Fourth Versagraph: “But mainly I consider when”
Now the speaker finds himself in much safer territory. With a transition versagraph, he introduces the next stage in his imaginary journey. He muses on the times that the grandmother might have held the book in her hands. He concocts only three occasions spread over the final two versagraphs.
Fifth Versagraph: “a few times at church”
First, the speaker imagines that she held her Bible in her hands “a few times at church.” Why “a few times” and to what do refer? That the few times she attended church she had the Bible with her or she took the Bible with her only a few times? This waffling aligns perfectly with the speaker’s religious stance.
Second, the speaker reduces the grandmother’s possible “confused moments” in life to only “a couple.” The reader readily imagines the grandmother poring over her Bible in her moments of possible despair looking for guidance. That this might have happened only twice indicates high optimism.
The third was that “one strange time after mass”—which continues and concludes in the final versagraph.
Sixth Versagraph: “when she walked to the grocery store”
The third speculated time the grandmother held her Bible in her hands was the “strange time after mass,” when she stopped by the grocery. Momentarily, she placed the Bible “on a stack of apples” in order to examine “bananas for bruises.”
The speaker has “Eva” setting her Bible on a stack of “apples” to examine bruises on bananas. One wonders if it might have been too much to have a small garter snake peak out from the fruit. Without a doubt, it would have been. However, with the snake the word “strange” might have proved more effective.
Sources:
- Scott Poole, “The Bible,” The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor.
Linda Sue Grimes - As a writer, researcher, and SRF devotee, Linda Sue Grimes has studied poetry and practiced Kriya Yoga for over thirty years..
Join the Conversation