A Carolina Psalter. Tony Scully

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СКАЧАТЬ before me:Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth:My flesh also shall dwell in safety.10 For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol;Neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption.11 Thou wilt show me the path of life:In thy presence is fulness of joy;In thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

      Preserve me

      I say to Silence

      In Thee I put my trust

      Knowing I will be preserved as long as body lasts

      And not a second longer

      No matter how much I curl up in a ball

      Like Sparky

      Our yellow Labrador

      Hoping no one

      Not even you

      Will notice me

      I am told you will not let my soul remain in hell

      Or my flesh corrupt

      Although it will surely rot

      Ashes to ashes and dust to dust

      Who’s kidding who?

      And whom

      And you

      In the meantime

      I rest in hope

      That unlike my dead compatriots

      Now cinders in a cookie jar

      I will rise into light

      Transfigured

      And alive

      Psalm Seventeen

      1 Hear the right, O God, attend unto my cry;Give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence;Let thine eyes look upon equity.3 Thou hast proved my heart; thou hast visited me in the night;Thou hast tried me, and findest nothing;I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.4 As for the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the ways of the violent.5 My steps have held fast to thy paths,My feet have not slipped.6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt answer me, O God:Incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.7 Show thy marvellous loving kindness,O thou that savest by thy right hand them that take refuge in thee From those that rise up against them.8 Keep me as the apple of the eye;Hide me under the shadow of thy wings,9 From the wicked that oppress me,My deadly enemies, that compass me about.10 They are inclosed in their own fat:With their mouth they speak proudly.11 They have now compassed us in our steps;They set their eyes to cast us down to the earth.12 He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey,And as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.13 Arise, O God,Confront him, cast him down:Deliver my soul from the wicked by thy sword;14 From men by thy hand, O God,From men of the world, whose portion is in this life,And whose belly thou fillest with thy treasure:They are satisfied with children,And leave the rest of their substance to their babes.15 As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness;I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with beholding thy form.

      Like everyone else

      I pray to be safe

      Rich

      And to live forever

      With all my teeth intact

      In the meantime

      I am surrounded by lions

      And tigers

      And Republicans

      Who would devour me if they could

      Cancer lurks in the shadows

      With diabetes close behind

      Featuring neuromuscular disease

      And lunacy at every turn

      Ha ha

      Who will stop the lion from ripping my flesh?

      Who will protect me from drones

      And local alcoholics?

      More to the point

      Who will save me

      From me myself and I?

      Is that your purpose –

      To make me untouchable

      To render me immortal

      Unknown

      By those around me?

      I would surmise

      We come here for complicated reasons

      None of which I completely understand

      My prayer is hear my prayer

      When I awaken from this darkness

      I hope to see your face

      Hear your laughter

      And hear you call my name

      I need nothing more

      Not a house by the waves

      Not a Lamborghini

      Not even a Performer of the Year award

      No, just you

      Just you

      Psalm Eighteen

      1 I love thee, O God, my strength.2 God is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;My God, my rock, in whom I will take refuge;My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.3 I will call upon God, who is worthy to be praised:So shall I be saved from mine enemies.4 The cords of death compassed me,And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.5 The cords of Sheol were round about me;The snares of death came upon me.6 In my distress I called upon God,And cried unto my God:He heard my voice out of his temple,And my cry before him came into his ears.7 Then the earth shook and trembled;The foundations also of the mountains quaked And were shaken, because he was wroth.8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils,And fire out of his mouth devoured:Coals were kindled by it.9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down;And thick darkness was under his feet.10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly;Yea, he soared upon the wings of the wind.11 He made darkness his hiding-place, his pavilion round about him,Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.12 At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed,Hailstones and coals of fire.13 God also thundered in the heavens,And the Most High uttered his voice,Hailstones and coals of fire.14 And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them;Yea, lightnings manifold, and discomfited them.15 Then the channels of waters appeared,And the foundations of the world were laid bare,At thy rebuke, O God,At the blast СКАЧАТЬ