She is dancing her Dance
and everything changes.
This is what is meant by Impermanence,
buddhist for God.
She is dancing her Dance
and nothing remains.
This is what is meant by Nothingness,
atheist for God.
She is dancing her Dance
and everything is beautiful.
This is what is meant by Changing Woman,
navajo for God.
She is dancing her Dance
and planets whirl around the sun.
This is what is meant by Allah,
sufi for God.
She is dancing her Dance
and her forms are never-ending.
This is what is meant by Shakti, Energy,
hindu for God.
She is dancing her Dance
and the Dance is She.
This is what is meant by God,
human for Mystery.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
poem from Ardor: Poems of Life
Janine Canan, MD is a feminist psychiatrist and author of twenty books including She Rises like the Sun: Invocations of the Goddess by Contemporary American Women Poets, Messages from Amma: In the Language of the Heart, and Ardor: Poems of Life. Coming soon are You Guys: On the Miscondition of Women and 100 Visionary Women Poets. Janine graduated cum laude from Stanford and received her medical degree from NYU School of Medicine where she led a walk-out from a sexist anatomy lecture. Today she is consultant for Indian humanitarian Mata Amritanandamayi, known as Amma “the hugging saint”.
feminismandreligion.com 
This is a very beautifully constructed poem; yet for me it is inaccurate in its interpretation of the world’s major religions’ perceptions of deity – particularly that of so-called ‘atheists’. But mostly I am left totally numb by the use of the gendered word “god” – where the poetry fades. Inclusiveness for me as a woman representative of ‘god’ is either ‘god-ess’ of ‘god-ness’. I understand the poetry, but the gendered representation kills it for me.
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I wish to reclaim the word, which for me is beyond the human
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Beautiful! I loved this–just what I needed to read this morning. Thank you!
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Than YOU.
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Exquisite. Thank you! I love how in every dance in which you portray Her, She brings into Her embrace another religious view, until, ultimately, in the last stanza, labels fall away and She is Mystery. The beautiful way in which you created this poem allows for so many interpretations, depending upon where we are on our spiritual path.
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Thank you so much.
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What a beautiful lyrics. May I reprint in my newsletter, with credits to the author, of course?
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Absolutely, Irene. I would be very happy for it to appear in your newsletter. Please send it on to me! Warm wishes…Janine
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