Psalm Project. Psalm 5, a haiku

Haikus seem like a cop out to a real poem so let me tell you this tale. I wanted to respond to Psalm 5. It is another lament, another request for God to attend to our afflictions and supplications. Here is the original text of Psalm 5.

Psalm 5

For the director of music. For pipes. A psalm of David.

1 Listen to my words, Lord,
    consider my lament.
2 Hear my cry for help,
    my King and my God,
    for to you I pray.
3 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
    in the morning I lay my requests before you
    and wait expectantly.
4 For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
    with you, evil people are not welcome.
5 The arrogant cannot stand
    in your presence.
You hate all who do wrong;
6     you destroy those who tell lies.
The bloodthirsty and deceitful
    you, Lord, detest.
7 But I, by your great love,
    can come into your house;
in reverence I bow down
    toward your holy temple.
8 Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness
    because of my enemies—
    make your way straight before me.
9 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted;
    their heart is filled with malice.
Their throat is an open grave;
    with their tongues they tell lies.
10 Declare them guilty, O God!
    Let their intrigues be their downfall.
Banish them for their many sins,
    for they have rebelled against you.
11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
    let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
    that those who love your name may rejoice in you.
12 Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous;
    you surround them with your favor as with a shield.


So for this I decided to look at sonic techniques. I pulled out the sounds in the poem that struck me. I went through and highlighted all of the interesting lines. Lines such as verse 3. "In the morning ..... in the morning ..." Morning is an odd word, especially with the English pun of mourning. I attached onto that. I then attempted to rewrite these lines as best as I could. I ended up with 12 lines. I then went through and highlight my best lines of the 12. I found 5. I then decided that a 5 line poem would be very short, but I could work with the pacing, rhythm and sound to make it better. Better would be a haiku. So I took my three best lines and made them work to haiku format. Boom. Here is my haiku version of this Psalm:

I Read Psalm 5 While It Rains

My wife's cries at night
Are our bitter offering
These arms cannot hold