Psalm

How I have learned
to be without want;
to lie down my heart
so that comfort can be
as still as water at dawn
where not even the wind
dares to disturb the calm.

Restore my soul
and explain righteousness
for my sake.

Yes, I have walked
through places the color of sorrow
and with the ringing walls of emptiness.
I have learned that fear
is illusion, and alone
is a state of mind
when a feast of kindness
awaits me,
anoints me with joy
until I am filled,

drunk by the cup
my lover has handed me.

Surely goodness and mercy
are with me as I gaze at spring
and I take the keys,
turn them in the lock,
and gather the treasures of my life together
to sing the prayers of a monk,
repeat the chants of a warrior,
and form the notes
in the mouth of a woman
who is remembering
the words
to the most sacred of songs.