The 13th poem in my Corona on the Psalms: A Song of Sudden Hope

who drank the bitter cup and in so doing made it flow with wine

Psalm 13 is one of the shortest in the whole psalter, and although it starts in distress there is a sudden welling of hope and renewal in the last two verses, as grief turns to grace and the heart is once more joyful, a pattern I have reflected in my poem. As with the other poems in this Corona sequence, I seek once more to draw out how the pattern of Christ’s death and resurrection is hidden in the pattern of the psalms.

As always you can hear me read the poem by clicking on the play button or the title and you can find the other poems in this evolving series by putting the word ‘psalms’ into the search box on the right. I hope you enjoy the poem.

XIII Usque quo, Domine?

Come down to free us, come as our true friend,

How long, how long? Oh do not hide your face

Or let me sleep in death, but light my end,

 

Till it becomes a bright beginning. Place

Your wounded hands in mine and raise me up

That even grief itself may turn to grace.

 

Then I will sing a song of sudden hope,

Then I will praise my saviour, the divine

Companion who drank the bitter cup

 

And in so doing made it flow with wine,

That his strong love might overrun my heart

And all his joy in heaven might be mine.

 

Then I will sing his song, and take my part

In Love’s true music, as his kingdom comes

And heaven’s hidden gates are drawn apart.

 

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