November

I find November

settled into her favorite rocker

where it has been sitting all year,

as if she'd never left.

I'd offer her tea,

but she took the liberty

of brewing a pot, thank you,

and would I like some?

She is comfortably dressed

in browns and tans

with the old familiarity

of a close neighbor just dropping by,

but in no hurry.

Her scarf rustles and gusts

behind her as the chair

rocks back and forth,

back and forth,

like the passing of time.

One of the things I enjoy most about my job is the relative freedom I have to study whatever interests me. Poetry has been a part of my life to greater and lesser degrees for some time, but never have I had as much freedom to work my poetic pursuits into everything else that I do. I began preaching a series on the Psalms with the college students, largely as a way to improve my Hebrew, but I have been finding my literary skills in my own language stretched as well. Most English translations are very good at giving a faithful rendition of the content of the Hebrew Psalms, even making the English translation aesthetically pleasing. But part of the beauty of poetry is that the partnership between form and content is far more intimate than it is with prose. Which words are chosen to rhyme together affects which ideas are emphasized. The rhythm and meter of verse will affect the feeling one gets in reading. Even the kinds of sounds used--hard consonants versus soft--can create an atmosphere of dissonance or tranquility.

As I study the poetic devices utilized in these Hebrew poems, I have begun asking myself, "How might this have been written had it originally been in English?" While this is generally a very subjective process, I have found it helpful in my understanding of each psalm. Psalm 8, for example, incorporates wordplay that draws attention to the word "name" (the word for "your heavens" can sound like "your name"), emphasizing the importance of God's reputation or fame. The poem is also written in a symmetrical form (what scholars call a "chiasm"), so that each line in the first half corresponds to a line in the second half. This draws attention to "man" at the center. At several places, internal rhyme also drives the poem, making the question in v. 4 ("what is man?") all the more powerful. Noticing these things has helped me understand where to focus attention in my preaching. I have also tried to replicate them in my own translations, staying as faithful as possible to the content, but trying even more to utilize form in such a way as to recreate the same sort of effect that reading it in Hebrew might.

Psalm 8

O Master Yahweh, all the earth magnifies your great name!

You, who drape majestic fame across the skies;

Infants’ victory songs rise as vengeful foes are vanquished under foot;

Skies scream out, lunar and celestial luminaries—all your handiwork.

And what, then, is the son of Adam?

Insignificant, unremarkable, you humble him

to be just under yourself. You glorify him

and crown with honor your son Adam.

You stand him, crowned ruler over all your handiwork:

Flocks and cattle, beasts that work—all things are placed under his foot

You raise and put his claim over the hosts of the seas and skies

O Master Yahweh, all the earth magnifies your great name!