"If There Were a God" - Olivia Gatwood

[@deannadecola2718]

"i tell my grandmother i do not believe in god, but that i am a good person. i wonder why i feel these two phrases must be said together."

[@samanthaeubanks2610]

This is one of my absolute favorite poems. I love it.

[@NameofLion]

have u ever read a poem then??

[@NameofLion]

just stop

[@NameofLion]

Ok first of all you used ignorant wrong, I've shown no sign of a lack of knowledge towards poetry, you've just assumed so. And there is much better poetry out there that actually has meaning, and its been pretty well established in every variation of Christianity that god is not a woman

[@maddiebyrd223]

It's amazing how much hate this girl gets for no real reason. People who hate in comment sections... I honestly have no words.

[@manoftheyear5895]

because she's cancer, she's full of herself and says stupid stuff, her "hey science" makes no sense what's so ever and is a stupid feminazi

[@lorrainegatanianhits8331]

Watch "LeafyisHere" thats why she gets hate for quite a reason

[@LesPaul2006]

Hm. They deleted my previous comment. For the record, it said something along the lines of "when somebody says microwaves are sexist, said somebody can expect as much derision as would someone who said the Earth is flat."

[@ferreduda]

People just don't feel confortable with a girl who actually likes herself, isn't afraid to speak her mind and isn't apologetic for it. Too bad for the world.

[@xosecox12]

The haters won't admit to it, but it's a reaction to a confident woman who speaks her mind and calls people out on uncomfortable truths. They pretend to have valid reasons to hate her but it's disguised misogyny and an unwillingness to listen to what she's saying. I took a workshop with her and she's a super sweet girl. She's performing when she's reading her poems. Some people see this videos and assume she's some angry girl 24/7.

[@eeleyes]

"I tell my grandmother that I don't believe in god but I'm still a good person" Omg yes

[@riddhir.s.1493]

If there were a God I would thank her the toothy insides of ripe pomegranates, for the easy thumbing of their soft peels Thank her for seventy-three degree weather For leaning oaks, glass bottom boats, and always acknowledging what is beneath us For the neighbors who kept their tire swings long after their kids had grown up and moved out or the loyal lemonade stand customers For the man who gave up his seat to a pregnant woman on the five o’clock 3 train Or the brief moment of connectedness between two strangers reading the same book. I would thank her for that book I would thank her for the bicycle shops that fix tires without charge and Costco samples on Saturdays In fact, I would thank her for all of the free things ever Except price quotes I might not thank her for those But I would thank her for the good kinds of taxes and the schools that they build For wide bike lanes and the cars who stay out of them, for the persistent love of New York City and the fact that even when I want to hate it I end up dancing to a singing saxophone in the middle of Grand Central Station I would thank her for that saxophone I would thank her for the parents who let their kids learn an instrument, for the kids who made their parents let them, I would thank her for the kids who said fuck it and taught themselves For the teachers, philosophers, waitresses, and scientists For the good fathers and the person who invented eyeglasses I would thank her for every coincidence and someone might say in God’s eyes there is no coincidence but the God I am imagining still doesn’t know what to make of the fact that people run into their friends just moments after thinking of one another, my God is just as confused as we are My God thinks the saying “everything happens for a reason” is bullshit She also thinks the act of claiming one’s god as their own is serious bullshit I just want to thank something for the people who organize archives and the museum guides who get way too excited, for the tourists who ask questions I want to thank something for the answer yes I tell my grandmother I do not believe in God but that I am a good person I wonder why I feel these two phrases must be said together If there were a god, I would hope she loves the people who doubt her existence that way she would continue to give us these moments, these moments that make us say if there were a god I would thank her for this

[@natalka777_]

If there were a God, I would thank her for Olivia Gatwood and her poetry :) you're a real blessing to this world

[@jusstcallmeclo]

All the people in the comments fighting over the fact that she refereed to God as a she when it doesn't even matter. This poem is so much more than that and fighting over a trivial thing just distracts from the real message it's sending.

[@darraghmagee779]

shutup bich

[@myag5119]

Love you Olivia!!!

[@NameofLion]

why tf

[@olivia.2125]

Bamlak Bekele yea, like wtf how is that beautiful

[@samiajunaid7021]

Lmao not these men in the comments getting mad😭

[@AlajiaRoyster]

LOVE LOVE LOVE! this is so great and Olivia is so great and this just makes me so happy!!

[@AlajiaRoyster]

+ItzMeMiles WAZZUP I'm so serious, I love this

[@TheGwynchan]

I want this T-Shirt

[@radiantriley1689]

LeMaA lol me too!

[@biancalizardo2544]

Lovely, Olivia. nice tag on your shirt, after being polite on more than one occasion to a coworker who then said he was certain i was into him. i had to explained i am polite. i say hello to everyone just the same. and if you have a question about my field i'll answer it. P.S i enjoy your work very much. Megan's too. I've seen your work before on other channels didn't know you had one.

[@fattestofrats9394]

Scrolling through this comments section made me feel fucking sick. Poetry is art and art is subjective. If you feel the need to personally attack a teenage girl and compare her art to cancer then you are the problem.

[@slindingcrane9175]

Amber Castillo-Roman it's not poetry it's a call for help

[@doomguy8324]

Amber Castillo-Roman nah. If you call this art your a sick fucked up dumb ass.

[@darraghmagee779]

its not poetry u dumb fuck

[@BadgerRein]

I truly find this lady endearing as she teaches the way. SAY IT FROM YA CHEST!! For all those who disagree like what she is saying is wrong. . no one is right. What is 'wrong'? Only Humans seem to require labelling the space of expression while all animals seem to 'know' what is actually going on. Place a man-made object in front of any animal and most would regard it curiously. Yet when you, you who are so deeply entrenched in the mire of your SINGLE POINT-OF-VIEW, notice a budding anomaly. Complex in its beauty yet unapologetic as it nakedly sprouts forth bestowing the all accepting Earth with new seeds to propagate more awesome species!! You grind it back into the ground to return from whence it came because it has the terrifying capacity of proving single point-of-views are smoldering brands of weakness. How else can you justify raising your children into the indoctrination of your agenda as it was passed down from the sheeple you idolize? You're probably ridiculously boring in conversation. Please remain in the dark corners of the netherworld if anything I said applies to your present mindset and you DO NOT WISH to grow. How many lessons will it take a oddball to become schnuckem? The world may never know. #oliviafan4eva

[@deandrabowen5390]

So for some reason it's bad that she's using female pronouns when referring to God...why is it bad that some people think of God as female? What difference does it make if God is male or female? Does being female make God any less awesome or great or whatever adjective you want to use?

[@Chakra_king]

Because it's a fucking godess

[@paigedawn9818]

Well let's think of it this way. In today's society, we believe that you can self identify your gender. In the there's major monotheistic religions, God is first a Spirit. A Spirit has no body. So technically no gender. HOWEVER, in all three of the major religious texts for those monotheistic religions, God identifies as things like 'Father'. And uses He/Him pronouns. So God self identified as male and you're misgendering Him using female pronouns.

[@ricksaunders]

I hope someday I get the opportunity to give O.G. A high-five. Her work is essential.

[@samneedssleep9816]

Rick Saunders I do too. I don't know why she gets so much hate

[@cbellbooth]

Excellent!

[@mattieabercrombie5410]

i myself don't really give a shit who or what people believe in, and i definitely don't believe that men are above women or women are above men. However i would like to point out that a lot of you are complaining that she called God a woman, however the channel is literally "Speak Like A Girl". What did you expect? It's a poetry channel that targets women and their pride for women's rights. So of course the poem was going to relate to that in some way. Now as Manny Mua would say, "if you don't like it, than don't fucking watch it."

[@loll8791]

My absolute favourite poet. Thank you, Olivia for another brilliant poem. 💜

[@Lauragreat913]

This is so amazing! 💕💕

[@bethsharp119]

Where can I get this shirt?

[@Fbaker04330]

For all you haters, you only hate her because she doesn't think like 1,000,000 people do. She's her own person. Poems don't have to be rays of sunshine and rainbows.

[@doomguy8324]

taustinlover no we don't like her cause her attitude is shit.

[@samneedssleep9816]

DooM Guy 83 And we don't like you cause you're rude

[@doomguy8324]

The Real Anime Potato then you don't like her either... cause she's rude... and ignorant... and narcissistic... And ... close minded...And sheltered...and whiny...and vulgar... And fuck this bitch...

[@samneedssleep9816]

DooM Guy 83 No. I really like her poetry. Everyone can narcissistic and rude. She just expresses herself this way. I respect her for that but I'm in no way a feminist

[@doomguy8324]

The Real Anime Potato yes. Everyone CAN be narcissistic and rude...but they shouldn't be. And yelling at the top of your lungs about shit that isn't an issue isn't poetry. It's just whiny, childish, self-entitled trash. People are dying, starving, being raped, robbed, and enslaved. We have more important things to worry about than Olivia Twatwood's smelly pussy.

[@Entgineer]

:O where was this filmed?

[@justshanban279]

Wow I love this

[@PutBoxOnMe]

Where is she performing this?

[@kntvancelot]

Everyone in my family believes in God. My family still doesnt know I dont believe in God. I completely agree with every single syllable in this poem. Maybe there is a God, but if there is then he/she shouldnt care whether we worship or even believe.

[@lucid3773]

I like this God better

[@adesuwaolumhense2244]

This is wonderful. I love this!!

[@nuclearmudking7497]

I respect that👌🏾

[@FieldsofTrenzalore]

if there were a god, i would thank her for olivia gatwood

[@hannahcichon5286]

Why are you all so butthurt about a woman-whom you have never met on a personal level-take advantage of her freedom of speech? If she enjoys her art, and you don't like it, then press that dislike button and move on. Bunch of pessimistic pricks.

[@samneedssleep9816]

PREACH

[@JackilynChristine]

♥️

[@Panwere36]

No one is taking this girl or her friend Megan seriously.. at least not in the real world.

[@damarisbartonn]

maybe you should fuck off

[@hu2558]

Everything happens for a reason is bullshit? Just because you don't understand the complexities and length that can be presented by cause and effect it is bullshit? You are in just the same way bullshit. People like you believe in coincidence and luck because you ignore your(our) own lack of understanding of things outside our perception.

[@elizabethjones1804]

So, your saying that my parents got divorced for a reason? I lost my scholarship to college for a reason? What reason would that be? All it's done is add a crapton of stress and sadness and heartache to my life. And don't say that it was all a test, because there is no reason that I need to be "tested" to see if I can withstand the pressures of having my mother lie about me (to my face). That is bullshit.

[@elizabethjones1804]

+Agentbacon13 My parents got divorced because my mom went off the deep end on prescription drugs. My dad is still head over heels for her and has bent over backwards trying to please her. It has ripped our family apart and caused so much heartache. What is the reason? Why? I lost my scholarship because of the depression I sank into after my mom just took my sisters and moved across the country.

[@NameofLion]

when u way "went off the deep end on prescription drugs" do u mean she abused her prescription or the the medicine itself killed her cuz if it was the medicine then its the docter's fault 4 giving it 2 her and if she abused it then its her fault

[@NameofLion]

and u already said why u lost ur scholarship since u became depressed u weren't able to keep up wit school work

[@elizabethjones1804]

+B.P. B.C It was a mix of the two. She used so much antidepressants that it altered her memory so much that she believes my dad is a horrible person. It completely changed her personality. It wouldn't have happened if the doctor hadn't kept giving her the drugs in increasingly higher doses for years.

[@wetfire9856]

so know gods a women ok

[@silvana5609]

Wet Fire and God is neither man nor woman, but one thing remains certain, YOU ARE ILLITERATE!

[@bwacuff169]

Wow. Someone's sense of self-importance did about 10 lines of coke, stole a Corvette and is screaming down the road at 120 MPH. Well done: this is the first time I've thought "What a prat" about a female.

[@georgesewell3936]

she gives atheists a bad name.

[@levon666666able]

You can't do that.

[@elizabethjones1804]

What?

[@levon666666able]

+ItzMeMiles WAZZUP Move to Mars please.

[@harmonydevaney9630]

+Axel Alien Dun I'll come with you

[@levon666666able]

Harmony Devaney Sounds great to me

[@lorrainegatanianhits8331]

There is a god, well its definitly not a she

[@lorrainegatanianhits8331]

+ItzMeMiles WAZZUP Lel,I think its something diffrent not a man not a female. But you got the point that everyone has a diffrent meaning of god.

[@SpaceElf]

+ItzMeMiles God is not a he, if you think god is a he, you don't really understand god. The words Lord and He are used for god in the Tora, Quran and Bible because at a time they were considered to be obvious, by people that didn't consider the nature of such a being and projected themselves onto it. It is for this reason, the catholic church dismisses a literal reading of the old testament, because such a reading would miss the fundamental reality that the authors were ignorant as to the nature of their world and of god. God is a timeless, spaceless, incorporeal being utterly inhuman and unable to be understood properly by a limited, corporeal, chronological and human creature. God cannot be either he nor she because to be he or she is to be human, limited, confined and corporeal. Because the understanding of ones self as a he or a she is a human event, not a gods. God has no gender, God has no sex. God is a will without limitation, believed by Christians to be All Present, All Knowing, All Powerful and to embody the values of Justice, Mercy, Love, Forgiveness and Grace.

[@alexlol-he9iz]

+Jade Black... actually God is a man , God made adam as an image of himself.

[@jesusisc0mings00n3]

+Satoshi Isshiki Nope wrong both were created in His image. Adam literally means man. Read Genesis 1:27. It's the reason why adam is translated here as mankind in the NIV. God is not male or female. When Jesus came to this world, He took the form of a man and called God the Father His Father. We use this designation for God. 3rd wave feminists have a problem with it obviously. But God is not limited by you. He loves us as our Father, unfortunately many do not have good representations of what a fatherly love should be. This is why having both a father and mother in the family is important. Equally as important is for the man to love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave His life for it. Self sacrificing love. That is God's love and His very essence.

[@SpaceElf]

Satoshi Isshiki You are objectively wrong. Every single priest you ask will tell you that, especially if they went to any kind of formal theological education. Like the 4 years of formal university education I received in Catholic Theology. And the 22 years prior living in a family that went to church twice a week.

[@toalazlo6]

Go take your meds.

[@dr_ruvi]

Real mature right there

[@toalazlo6]

least I wouldn't bitch in front of a camera and call it 'poetry'.

[@jaredwatson6013]

+Deep Blue damn

[@NameofLion]

weird i never really see guys calling other ppl immature

[@piloqo5454]

uh uh uh, in the bible it says god is a guy. A female god is a "godess", and god loves the people who doubt HIS existence

[@fern5505]

Haunt QO Mabey she is not talking about your god

[@sacha5985]

Why does everything about a god needs to be about fucking Christians, maybe she was talking about the Hindoe goddess or some of another culture? What do you and I know about it?

[@96MasterOfPuppets96]

It's okay guys by the time 2025 comes around she'll have bankrupted herself and taken a bath with a toaster.

[@thatguy22441]

And her dozens of cats will have eaten her body. Nobody will notice because nobody will miss her.

[@SynthieFlowers]

Ohh! Triggered are we?!

[@doomguy8324]

1904 ha ha ha ha!!!!

[@sacha5985]

I see you're still stuck in 1904.

[@edwardbackman744]

Gods a he wtf

[@jaredwatson6013]

True

[@caolanmcneill7763]

yeah but this is a crazy feminist so God has to be a female xD

[@caolanmcneill7763]

+ItzMeMiles WAZZUP ehh no thats not true God is a male for a start as he is the Father basic biology for you atheists there secondly Even though these bad things as you have implied exist doesn't mean God doesn't it just means he's on a higher level of understanding of how the world works we weren't made to understand everything in the world if we were babies wouldn't die at birth ISIS wouldn't exist Racism wouldn't exist yada yada yada etc etc etc

[@caolanmcneill7763]

+ItzMeMiles WAZZUP similarly you cannot prove he doesn't anymore than I can prove he does at the end of the day I believe in him and you don't fine but try and keep your cool "No? K shut up" very mature

[@elizabethjones1804]

Nice way to justify not doing a damn thing to make anyone's life better other than your own. "People are starving to death and little children are dying; must be because God is merciful and loving" That doesn't make any sense. Also, it is not up to us to disprove God's existence. It's up to you to prove that He does exist. For the record, I grew up Christian and I was taught that God had a wife, in other words a FEMALE GOD. Just saying