I Saw God in the Back of a Department Store

I saw God in the back of a department store
Looking at a shirt

'It's...ugh...no'
'Just buy it.'
'No.'
'You like it.'
'Yeah...'
'You like it?'
'Yeah.'
'So buy it.'
'Ugh...'

God walks on the tiled floor
And the tiles lift up a few inches
Until God stops
And lets them go down

'Sometimes I feel like an unintentional magician'

God takes me to the make-up counter
And has me sit in a chair
While someone is retrieved
To apply new layers of understanding
To my epidermis

'You could use a better grasp of physics, I guess. And maybe some more compassion right around your eyes. Your lips could be softer, but that's my fault. A lot of people like soft lips.'

Shoppers walk around us
And as they do
God lets me peek inside their bags

My favorite moments
Are when I spot cookware

'Is she ever going to use that blender?'
'Nope, but it'll make her happier to have it.'
'Does it disappoint you?'
'What?'
'That kind of...materialism?'

God stops and suddenly we're in a giant kitchen
With appliances everywhere
Men, women, and children running about
Carrying bowls of food

'If a blender makes someone happy, then I'm happy. I'm not about to go criticizing people for loving what they love.'

We go up the escalator
And as we ride
I hear the piano playing on the first floor

At first it's just a finger's stroll across the keys
But then I hear strings and winds and a choir singing

When we reach the top
There are doors everywhere
Leading into what look like dressing rooms
And the floor beneath us
Is black marble
With soft white pinpoints
That shine every few seconds

God says--'Would you like to dance?'

'In the department store?'
'Sure.'
'Okay.'

So I take God's hands
And as I do
The doors all open
And men and women come out
Dressed in the best the store has to offer

Some of them are simply wrapped in fabric
While others are wearing hats taller than their bodies
And some don't seem to be wearing anything at all
But they're poised and positioned
As if they're models from Milan

God looks at me and says--

'Wouldn't the world be so much better if people spent more time in department stores?'

And I say--

'Some people feel sad being here.'
'Why?'
'They're reminded of what they can't have.'

God looks at me, perplexed
And says--

'But what makes this place so wonderful is that it's a reminder of everything you don't need.'

And as we dance around the store
Shopping bags begin to fall from the ceiling
Each and every one of them
Empty

And as they hit the floor
We keep right on dancing over their glossy surfaces

Never wondering for one second
What we could put in them