Aging Project XXXI

 

Text and image Copyright © 2023 by Donald C. Traxler aka Yablom.

Psalm 17

 

Hear a just cause, O Lord,

be attentive to my cry.

Give ear to my prayer,

it comes from lips that

are without fraud.

May my judgment issue forth

from your presence,

may your eyes see

my integrity.

You have tried my heart,

You have visited by night

and tested me,

and in me was found

no iniquity.

That my mouth might not speak

of the deeds of men,

due to words from your lips,

I kept to difficult ways.

Restore my steps

to your paths,

that my feet

may not falter.

I have invoked You

that You might hear me,

O God,

incline your ear

to me,

and hear

my words.

Make your mercy marvelous,

You who save

those who hope in You

from those who resist

your right hand.

Guard me as the

pupil of your eye,

protect me

in the shade

of your wings

from the wicked who

have afflicted me.

My enemies have surrounded me,

closing ranks with their bulk

and their bragging mouths,

they have taunted me,

advancing against me

they surround me,

their eyes set on

throwing me to the ground.

They are like a lion

ready to attack,

like the lion cub

who waits in hiding.

Rise up, O Lord,

meet and overthrow them,

save my soul

from the wicked

by your sword,

by your hand,

from these men,

dead in their depths,

whose portion

is this life.

But as for your protected ones,

you will fill their stomachs,

so that their sons will be satisfied

and they will send the rest

to their infants.

But I, justified,

shall behold your face:

when I have awakened,

I shall be filled

with the vision

of You.

Translation Copyright © 2023 by Donald C. Traxler.

Psalm 16

Protect me O Lord,

because I have hoped in You,

saying to the Lord,

You are my Lord

because I have no

welfare apart from You.

As for the "holy and mighty ones"

who are in the land,

my whole desire concerning them

is that the sorrows of those

who follow them

should be multiplied.

I shall not offer

their libations of blood

nor place their names

upon my lips.

The Lord is my portion of inheritance

and my cup.

It is You who are the master

of my fate.

Boundary lines dropped for me

in the most beautiful places

and my inheritance

is most special to me.

I shall bless the Lord

who has given me counsel,

and by night my heart

gives me instruction.

I shall keep the Lord always in my sight,

for with Him at my right hand,

I shall not be shaken.

Because of this,

my heart rejoices

and my glory exults,

and my body shall

live in hope,

for You will not

abandon my soul

to hell,

or let your devoted one

see corruption.

You have made known to me

the path of life.

You have filled me with joy

with your presence,

in your right hand

are delights

forever.

Translation Copyright © 2023 by Donald C. Traxler.

 

Rachamim

Is rachamim*

really related

to rechem?**

It should be

if it isn't.

The same womb

that births children

also births

mercy and gentleness,

in a world

greatly in need.

*mercy

**womb

האם רחמים

באמת קשור

רֶחֶם?

זה צריך להיות

אם זה לא.

אותו רחם

שיולדת ילדים

גם לידות

רחמים ועדינות,

בעולם

זקוקים מאוד.

     --Yablom

Text and image Copyright © 2023 by Donald C. Traxler aka Yablom.

IP5978

 

Image Copyright © 2023 by Donald C. Traxler aka Yablom.

Aging Project XXX - About this Series

 

Text and image Copyright © 2023 by Donald C. Traxler aka Yablom.

Still Life IV

 

Image Copyright © 2023 by Donald C. Traxler.