March 17: Saint Patrick, Psalm 9, and Flannery O'Connor

Well, my streak of luck has continued.  I have another new poem for today.  For those of you who aren't poets or writers, let me tell you that I generally am not able to produce nine poems in nine days.  Well, nine poems I consider good, anyway.  But it has been working out for me so far.

Let me tell you how I have been writing this past week.  I start thinking about the poem as soon as I wake up.  Literally, it's one of the first things that goes through my head after my alarm goes off.  As I take my shower and get ready for work, I say my prayers, and then, as I get in my car, I start thinking, "OK, God, can you send me an idea for a poem now?"  And, I'm not kidding, by the time I get to work, I have the idea and first few lines of my poem.

Today was little bit different.  When I thought, "God, can you send me an idea for a poem?", the answer I got right away was "villanelle."  Now, a villanelle is a French form of poetry that is incredibly difficult to compose, including lots of repeated lines and rhymes.  The most famous villanelle is Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night."  Well, when I got that answer this morning, my response was, "Thanks, but no thanks.  Can you send me something else?"  Well, of course, God wouldn't do that.  As the morning wore on, I kept coming back to the idea of a villanelle.  Finally, I surrendered and started working on a villanelle.  I was done within a couple of hours.

Now, I'm not saying it's always going to happen this way for me.  I know better than that.  But, I'll take the grace of poetry as long as it keeps coming.

Today is Saint Patrick's Day.  I'm wearing green, but I'm not having corned beef and cabbage for dinner.  The closest thing I did that is related to Ireland today is teach the Flannery O'Connor shorty story "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" to my class today.  I also had my students workshop their papers on Frank McCourt's memoir Angela's Ashes.  I'm not sure if either of those things count as celebrating Ireland, but it's all I got.

So, Saint Marty wishes you a happy Saint Patty's Day.  Here is today's psalm.

Psalm 9:  His Voice Cries Out

His voice cries out in the dark,

For milk or prayer or song.

Like you, Lord, I rise, embark

On a quest to answer my son, mark

His need for help.  My headstrong

Voice also cries out in the dark

Night after night, desperate, hungry, stark

In my need.  I long

For light, Lord.  I will rise, embark

To distant shores, board some ark

With hairy, tusked, scaled throng,

All our voices crying out in the dark.

We will sail, search for You, Monarch

Of olive branch, rainbow, milk.  We belong

To You, Lord.  We dance, rise, embark,

Worship.  All.  Trout.  Bear. Doe. Meadowlark.

You hear our infant sobs, our nightlong

Cries of praise and want in the dark.

You rise, Lord, listen, and embark.

Saint Marty says, "Top o' the mornin' to ya!"