Psalm for My Savior – A Pantoum
The other day I wrote a triolet and my dear blogging friend Deb, of Deb’s Blog, commented that it was very Psalm-like. It got me thinking about writing another triolet inspired by my favorite Psalm 116. But when I started writing I realized the triolet wasn’t really long enough to adequately express the subject of the Psalm-like poem I had in mind. Then I thought of the pantoum form, another of my favorites. Like the triolet, the pantoum has a set pattern of repeated lines. Both forms work wonderfully for Christian poetry. I hope you are blessed by this pantoum.
Psalm for My Savior
For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death
The anguish of death and darkness entangled me
I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, save me!”
Praise my God, my Savior who came to my rescue
The anguish of death and darkness entangled me
My eyes filled with tears, my feet stumbled under me
Praise my God, my Savior who came to my rescue
Rescued me from my trouble, sorrow, and darkness deep
My eyes filled with tears, my feet stumbled under me
The Lord, my God, heard my cry for love and mercy
Rescued me from my trouble, sorrow, and darkness deep
Now I know His grace and mercy are mine to keep
The Lord, my God, heard my cry for love and mercy
He saw the anguished turmoil of my broken soul
Now I know His grace and mercy are mine to keep
I will forever praise His glorious name, Jesus
He saw the anguished turmoil of my broken soul
I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, save me!”
I will forever praise His glorious name, Jesus
For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death
This Psalm was my offering over at dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night #47. Head over and check out some other great poetry.
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Just fantastic! Would I be speaking out of line if I said I envy your faith…not to mention the way you laid it down here in this form. A beautiful, “felt” read for me this evening. Pure Poetry!
Tash, What a wonderful comment! Thank you. And thank you for “scooping” my post to share with others. When I wrote this I was thinking of my own struggles with depression, but as I reread the poem, I realized it was an encouragement for anyone who endures struggles of any kind. Peace, Linda
i’ve never tried a pantoum so far..a form that scares me somehow..so kudos for approaching it…and i like the direct voice in your poem linda
Claudia, This is actually the 4th pantoum that I’ve written. I love the form, and it is much easier than it seems at first glance. You really should try one – I bet you’d be great at it! And I have dVerse to thank for teaching me this form in the first place. 🙂 Peace, Linda
nice…this def sounds like a psalm…the call out, our failings and still our praising…what reassurance there is in this …smiles…
Oh this turned out so wonderful, Linda!
“He saw the anguished turmoil of my broken soul” . . .this line really blessed me. He saw me and knew what I needed (HIM!) before I ever figured out what was going on.
God bless you as He continues to send us hope through your poems and posts!
Deb, This whole “Psalm” is a summary of my life with Jesus! I just love the pantoum form for this poem, and am so thankful for your comment that inspired me to write it. 🙂 Your encouragement all along has really helped me be bolder with my poetry. Peace, Linda
“Rescued me from my trouble, sorrow, and darkness deep
Now I know His grace and mercy are mine to keep.”
I’ve been having those very same thoughts lately (not as beautifully expressed, but still…). And I’ve been thinking about Jesus, too… that He cares about my broken soul and died for me. Praise His name, and what a wonderful expression of His love you’ve written. Thanks, Linda.
Linda, I had a feeling you’d like this one. It is such a blessing to know that He does love us and cares about souls. And poetry is a wonderful medium to express my gratitude. Peace, Linda