That line makes a bit more sense with context. This poem was originally written as part of a project to make creative rewordings of the psalms and pair them with a new poem. This poem was paired with Psalm 16 (https://darklingpsalter.substack.com/p/psalm-16poem-and-rendition?utm_source=%2Fsearch%2Fpsalm%252016&utm_medium=reader2). Hence, "I say the psalms but the words are changed." It has a double meaning... both referring to the project and how Paul would have had to revisit the psalms after Jesus' revelation to him.
I caught that double meaning, and it gave me chills. Your attention to layers of meaning, as well as the sounds of words, make for such an enjoyable reading experience that when I finished the poem I immediately started reading it again, looking for things I might have missed. 💖
I love the creative spin on the wonderfully familiar story. With this poem, I get to feel, a little, what Paul(Saul) might have gone through. Thanks for this!
Beautiful: "I say the psalms but the words are changed."
That line makes a bit more sense with context. This poem was originally written as part of a project to make creative rewordings of the psalms and pair them with a new poem. This poem was paired with Psalm 16 (https://darklingpsalter.substack.com/p/psalm-16poem-and-rendition?utm_source=%2Fsearch%2Fpsalm%252016&utm_medium=reader2). Hence, "I say the psalms but the words are changed." It has a double meaning... both referring to the project and how Paul would have had to revisit the psalms after Jesus' revelation to him.
I caught that double meaning, and it gave me chills. Your attention to layers of meaning, as well as the sounds of words, make for such an enjoyable reading experience that when I finished the poem I immediately started reading it again, looking for things I might have missed. 💖
Oh this is powerful! Love this:
The pain was not the blow that shook me,
Nor the savage light, nor the violence,
But the knowledge, sudden and sure
That I was wrong.
What a blow it is to have the realization that we are wrong, that there is a brighter truth, that we can bend and not break.
Love the symmetry even in breaking:
"There was a whisper of wings
And I clattered to the ground."
"The rocks rattled around me
And lifted from the ground."
Powerfully written, a fully inhabited piece of poetry.
Oh Andy, “I say the psalms but the words are changed.” I feel like I just met Paul…and now the flannelgraph has skin and bones, sweat and countenance.
Man, Andy. I say the psalms but the words are changed. Phew. Also, flense is a new word to me. And a poignant one.
Wow! "zeal for your house".
Breathtaking, actually. I hung on every word. Thank you.
Marvelous! 👏👏👏
I love how this poem feels like a gut-punch and a miracle all at once, and the rhymes at the end of each section are a nice touch!
“It is longer than I thought and strange.
I say the psalms but the words are changed.”
I’m so struck by unexpected and perfectly tight rhymes that tie together opposing tones and themes—breaks into my heart.
I love the creative spin on the wonderfully familiar story. With this poem, I get to feel, a little, what Paul(Saul) might have gone through. Thanks for this!
Joltingly beautiful, thank you…
“"Hidden in the loss was another life”
"Hidden in the loss was another life
And love itself is thunderous light"
These were my favorite lines - just a beautiful description of the blinding light of Christ in appearing to Saul.
This whole poem was beautiful and a fresh way of re-hearing the story. Awesome work!
Fantastically beautiful! Thank you, Andy.