Brookwrite

The 23rd Song

If the lord is my shepherd
and I shall not want
explain all the pain
and why she loves me not.

As I lie in green pastures
and pass by still waters
nature's calm fails to ensure
it's been worth the bother.

On a straight path through the valley
drowned in shadows of death
I count my life's tally
as I take each cold breath.

How can I fear no evil
when its cup runneth over
while the glass for the civil
is more empty than ever?

Still goodness and mercy
are there all of my days
often too hard to see
in today's world's haze.

A reaction to the 23rd Psalm (the one made famous at funerals and other events).

Written in late 1996 at a pseudo-religious conference in Ojai, inspired during an upbeat seminar on death. Not directly inspired by personal loss as one might expect.