Psalm Sequitur

Look what falls into my lap while poking around a file for something else today:

“I once knew this little girl,” 

Father Barry was saying, 

“who had to do a reading in church. 

She’d memorized the Twenty-third Psalm. 

And she got up, 

all confidence, 

and she began, 

‘The Lord is my shepherd ...’ 

And she was stuck. 

She tried again. 

‘The Lord is my shepherd ...’ 

And she couldn’t remember another thing. 

And so she just looked out 

at the congregation 

and said, 

‘Well, that’s enough for now.’ 

And that, I think, 

is going to have to be the way 

we all approach this ...”

The words of that little excerpt from Jacquelyn Mitchard's A Theory of Relativity turn out to be just the right words for me, right here, right now.

bookmark

Mark Making

The Bible is a collection of religious texts sacred to Christians, Jews, and others. It contains 66 books, one of which is the book of Psalms. 

The book of Psalms contains 150 Psalms, one of which is Psalm 23.

Psalm 23 consists of six verses, the last of which rose to the surface of my mind several days ago in reference to my writing about mondegreens.

Yesterday, words from Psalm 23, line 5—my cup runneth over—came to my attention in a text message from my daughter.

Psalm 23 is thought to have been written some three thousand years ago (three thousand!), in Hebrew, by King David of Israel, though most of what is known of David comes from biblical literature, the historical authenticity of which is uncertain. There is little detail about David that is concrete and undisputed by historians.

But someone felt called to create, to put into form, and to share this sacred song, without knowing if or how making the marks of it would 'make a mark,' so to speak.

And so it is with all of us; we are called to create, called to make marks. 

I Shall Not Want
4.5 x 5.25" postcard; acrylic and ink on paper
abstract floral
2021

Where Would I Be?

Where would I be without books? 

Without marks? 

Without bookmarks? 

If You Listen, I'll Tell You a Story
1.75 x 5" bookmark; acrylic, latex, pencil, and collage
abstract
2021