Psalm 17—I wake through harrowing nights, but you have heard me.

"I am a fulgurite among a million sands. Sift me and start again with what is left."

Rendition of Psalm 17

I have asked before
And I will ask again: hear me.
This prayer is all I can manage,
But it rises from an honest heart.
Winnow me and claim what remains.
I am a fulgurite among a million sands.
Sift me and start again with what is left.
Seek me and sound me out.
Stand at my side as I groan 
Through my night thoughts one by one.
I have kept my hands from violence.
I have watched for signs—
A bent branch, a footstep,
A thin whisper leading left or right,
The next river rock between flashes of light—
To trace your path where it bends away.

I have raised my voice to call on you
And I call again: listen to my prayer.
Show me you are better 
Than my frail hopes guessed.
Show me you know how to shelter
Those who have wagered with you,
For dice rattle, time rattles,
And doubts rattle here in my head.
If I ever needed refuge, it is now.
I am not well-versed in violence,
But my enemies are all at hand.
They have shut their dull hearts
And sharpened their mouths. 
They do not know your name,
But they do know mine.
Before me, faces leer and lunge,
Pallid as bones, snapping, angry.
Behind me, claws skitter, blood bright.
Between them, I gasp through ever longer nights.

Violence is not what you made the world for;
It is just what happens here.
Is my God greater
Than the threats around me?
Rise and confront them. Show them
Your love is silver over steel.
Teach them the name of the power 
That guards the weak.
No strength stands unbended before you. 
Bow them. Upend them. 
They have taken the fattest portion.
Their bellies bulge.
Their cupped hands hoard spoils
They have promised to themselves. 

As for me, 
I wake through harrowing nights,
But you have heard me.
You have never been closer than this.
My consolation waits
In the lines of your face.

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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.

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, 10, 11, 12, 15, 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: 76/150—51%

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