I’ve been reading slowly through the Psalms – a few each morning. Not all of them resonate with me. There are the familiar ones that have lines I learned as a child; these stand out. And there are ones that sound so harsh I can’t believe that they are included in the canon — can we really speak this freely? Apparently we can. The Poet complains, cries and proclaims praise with equal enthusiasm. So I have been challenged — what am I feeling in all this? What would it look like expressed as a Psalm?

A Psalm does something extraordinary with raw emotion. It places it right up next to the character of God. It dares to say “This sucks” or “Why is this happening?” and “God is good” or “God is in control.” And then the Poet just lets it be there. Sometimes the poet is changed, sometimes not, but the honesty invites the reader inside the transaction where transformation is possible. What would your Covid poem say?

Psalm (covid) 19

Back and forth
goes the rhythm of my worry,
churning like a tide pushing in
and then rushing out again
abandoning me
to a stretch of sand and sadness.
Then, lured
by the news, or views on news,
the waves crash in again
and contend there with
the rhythm of my worship
that rises with my will
as I step up on the rock with You.

Peace brings a stillness
that rinses anxiety away
inviting me to wander
along the shoreline
of Your briny love.

The whole world in Yours
and I am a creature in Your care.
Wild is Your world, Oh God
and wilder still is your love.

© 2020 Laurel Archer