Psalm 10—Haven't you heard our cries and watched the ones you swore to shelter snatched away?

"Yet, you are king. You topple nations at a stroke."

Rendition of Psalm 10

God, why are you hiding?
Why are you far away?
I look around myself
And not a trace of you remains.

The wicked run down the poor
Like wild things. They howl
After every desire.
They curse God and fall on their prey.
They know only victory.
They strut and preen, and nothing checks them.
They give God not a passing thought.
Their mouths only know to curse
And swallow down. Their fingers
Only take and take and take.
The ruin that might save them
On occasion calls,
But they bat it away, bold as they can.
They cast about for little kills
And strike from hiding like 
Feral mousers playing lions,
As though God hadn’t eyes to see,
Or a heart that kept the count,
Or a stone table where the smoke rises
From their burning days.

God, who can hold you back?
Do not levee your judgment.
Let your reckoning run.
Tumble them in the flood.
Haven’t you seen all this?
Haven't you heard our cries
And watched the ones you swore 
To shelter snatched away?
We have no help but you.
We were stalked through
All of yesterday’s years, 
Hoping in you. 
We’ve seen things 
That shouldn’t have happened,
That we don’t whisper 
Even behind our eyes.

Yet, you are king.
You topple nations at a stroke.
There is not a single 
Passing prayer you miss.
How long will we have to wait?
No matter the answer,
Strengthen us, comfort us.
Ease this terror.

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If you are new to the Darkling Psalter, it is a project to create renditions of the Psalms (artistic rewordings based on the original Hebrew) paired with original poems.

Psalms with poems: 1, 2, 6, 8, 13, 14, 16, 19, 22, 29, 31, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 42, 46, 51, 53, 65, 73, 74, 84, 86, 88, 90, 107, 118, 121, 123, 130, 131, 137, 142, 147.

Psalms only: 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 23, 27, 43, 50, 54, 62, 63, 66, 75, 91, 100, 110, 114, 117, 119, 120, 122, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 132, 133, 134, 139, 140, 148

Psalms complete: 73/150—49%

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