Thursday, October 13, 2005

Who Holds Its Pillars Firm

This is a different Psalm 75 poem from the one in the psalmfest, but it’s been floating in my head for a few days. It’s similar to a poem from last month, but sometimes poets get obsessed with things and write a lot about them. (for the ease of the reader, here is the text of psalm 75, NIV)

Who Holds Its Pillars Firm
(Psalm 75:3)

I am one of earth’s people, trembling.
It is I who sits alone in the dark, afraid
to visit tomorrow, knowing that I am
imperfect, and ill-equipped.
Out of desperation
I reach for the grace of God.

But my quaking is nothing, compared
to the earth and all its people. I
read of thousands gone, like flowers
blown over by the wind, when the
earth half a world away makes
its groaning more violent.

Are you the one tapping the earth,
causing its shivers? Or are you the
one who picks up a few and brings
them to safer ground? How do you
chose which pillars to hold?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This poem is amazing. Good work. The struggle to understand God's role in suffering is a difficult one, and every bit of poetry and shared wisdom helps. Thanks

Bob K said...

Nice poem, Bethany. It is very Psalm-like in that it both questions God and affirms God's control and providence.

Ryan Henderson said...

hate to be a punk, but check your use of the apostrophe in its. it's is never possessive, only a contraction for it is.
-teacher ryan

bethany said...

Thanks Ryan. I usually double-check for those because it's (!) so easy to make a mistake. But sometimes one slips by. I changed it.