Biblical Poetry: Genesis and the Creative Drive

I've been working on revisions to a YA novel of mine, and it has reminded me how much truly beautiful poetry can be found in the Bible.  Take, for example, the opening lines of Genesis, which provide a magnificent description of the first moments in the creative process:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was formless and empty,
darkness was upon the surface of the deep
and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.

What a stirring description of the start of everything, and the initial stages of any creation.  You begin with raw material that is formless and empty.  The depths that you will explore in the creative process remain in darkness, and the creative spirit, the creative urge, hovers over it all.

Next time you sit down to begin a creative endeavor of any sort, think back on these lines.  For me, they serve as a reminder that our creative drive connects us to something much greater, beyond ourselves, and deeply ancient.