Immerse: Poets Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 302
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IMMERSE
•
POETS
and now his archers surround me.
His arrows pierce me without mercy.
The ground is wet with my blood.
Again and again he smashes against me,
charging at me like a warrior.
I wear burlap to show my grief.
My pride lies in the dust.
My eyes are red with weeping;
dark shadows circle my eyes.
Yet I have done no wrong,
and my prayer is pure.
“O earth, do not conceal my blood.
Let it cry out on my behalf.
Even now my witness is in heaven.
My advocate is there on high.
My friends scorn me,
but I pour out my tears to God.
I need someone to mediate between God and me,
as a person mediates between friends.
For soon I must go down that road
from which I will never return.
“My spirit is crushed,
and my life is nearly snuffed out.
The grave is ready to receive me.
I am surrounded by mockers.
I watch how bitterly they taunt me.
“You must defend my innocence, O God,
since no one else will stand up for me.
You have closed their minds to understanding,
but do not let them triumph.
They betray their friends for their own advantage,
so let their children faint with hunger.
“God has made a mockery of me among the people;
they spit in my face.
My eyes are swollen with weeping,
and I am but a shadow of my former self.
The virtuous are horrified when they see me.
The innocent rise up against the ungodly.
The righteous keep moving forward,
and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger.
16:13–17:9
