Staying Alive

real poems for unreal times

It is because the Psalms touch every part of the human condition that they have been treasured down through the centuries as wonderful prayers.

Written in the form of poetry they were set to music and sung. It is in some way their poetry that touches the heart and triggers the power of prayer. To appreciate that power it can help if we start by seeking to appreciate the power of poetry to touch the human heart.

One way to do that would be to use a commentary. Another way is to use the insights of ‘intertextuality’, a recent approach to literature that suggests that meaning lies not so much within a particular text as in the connections we make between one text and others that in some way are related to it.

For that reason, we are going to put the Psalms alongside an anthology of modern poetry. As we do that we shall discover that we can see the Psalms in a new light as we discover fresh meanings somewhere between the text of the Book of Psalms and the text of ‘Staying Alive’. Neil Astley’s Anthology ‘Staying Alive’ [Bloodaxe Books, 2002] ‘is an international anthology of 500 life-affirming poems fired by belief in the human and the spiritual at a time when much in the world feels unreal, inhuman and hollow.’ What the blurb on the back cover says of that anthology of Poetry could be said of the Psalms: “These are poems of great personal force connecting our aspirations with our humanity, helping us stay alive to the world and stay true to ourselves.” We might go on to say that they help us stay alive to God and stay true to the Lord our rock and our redeemer.

I have chosen 12 Psalms to link to each section of Neil Astley’s Anthology: I have also included quotations from his introductory comments.

‘The best contemporary poetry is life-affirming and directly relevant to all our lives. Many people turn to poetry only at unreal times, whether for consolation in grief or affirmation in love. But ‘Staying Alive’ also shows the power of poetry in celebrating the ordinary miracle, taking you, the reader, on a journey around many of the different aspects of life explored in poems. David Constantine believes that poetry ‘helps us understand common things better. A poem is not just for crisis.’

Neither is a Prayer! And neither is a Psalm!

Throughout his anthology Neil Astley explains how poetry works and uses quotations from other poets to explain what poetry is.

His anthology goes on to group Poems around twelve aspects of life. I have suggested one Psalm to link to each section of his anthology: you might be able to think of more!

Poets on poetry

Poetry: the best words in the best order. Coleridge

Poetry is the art of using words charged with their utmost meaning. Dana Gioia

It should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts and appear almost a remembrance. Keats

Poetry is truth seen with passion. Yeats

Poetry cannot be defined, only experienced. Christopher Logue

Poetry is the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge … Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity.

It is a widening of consciousness, an extension of humanity. We sense an ideal version when we read, and with arm ourselves, to quarrel with reality. David Constantine

A poem should not mean

But be. Archibald MacLeish

Poetry is that

which arrives at the intellect

by way of the heart. R.S.Thomas

1 Body and Soul

Poems that celebrate the joy of living

“Poems come out of wonder not out of knowing” – Lucille Clifton

Psalm 100

A Psalm of thanksgiving

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;

come into his presence with singing.

Know that the LORD is God.

It is he that made us, and we are his;

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise.

Give thanks to him, bless his name.

For the LORD is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,

and his faithfulness to all generations.

2 Roads and Journeys

Many poems dramatise important life decisions: the journeys we take, the roads we choose or have chosen for us.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost

Psalm 121

A Song of Ascents

I lift up my eyes to the hills

from where will my help come?

My help comes from the LORD,

who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;

he who keeps you will not slumber.

He who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is your keeper;

the LORD is your shade at your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all evil;

he will keep your life.

The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in

from this time on and forevermore.

3 Dead or alive

Dead or alive takes you from low ebb to high hope, from wasted time to reawakening.

What’s writing really all about? It’s about trying to take fuller possession of the reality of your life. Ted Hughes

A writer is not interested in explaining reality: he’s interested in capturing it. Brendan Kennelly

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul:

he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil:

for thou art with me;

thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me

in the presence of mine enemies:

thou anointest my head with oil;

my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life:

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD

for ever.

4 Bittersweet

Bittersweet begins with poems from the harsh side of life, but shows the power of poetry to transform.

Poetry can tell us what human beings are. It can tell us why we stumble and fall and how, miraculously, we can stand up.

Maya Angelou

Psalm 13

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I bear pain in my soul,

and have sorrow in my heart all day long?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O LORD my God!

Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,

and my enemy will say, "I have prevailed";

my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.

But I trusted in your steadfast love;

my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

I will sing to the LORD,

because he has dealt bountifully with me.

5 Growing Up

Poems about childhood, memory and how we see the past.

Poetry helps us understand common things better … Poetry will not teach us how to live well, but it will incite in us the wish to. David Constantine

Psalm 103

Of David

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and do not forget all his benefits--

who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the Pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

who satisfies you with good as long as you live

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The LORD works vindication

and justice for all who are oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses,

his acts to the people of Israel.

The LORD is merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

He will not always accuse,

nor will he keep his anger forever.

He does not deal with us according to our sins,

nor repay us according to our iniquities.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,

so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

so far he removes our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion for his children,

so the LORD has compassion for those who fear him.

For he knows how we were made;

he remembers that we are dust.

As for mortals, their days are like grass;

they flourish like a flower of the field;

for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,

and its place knows it no more.

But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting

on those who fear him,

and his righteousness to children's children,

to those who keep his covenant

and remember to do his commandments.

The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,

and his kingdom rules over all.

Bless the LORD, O you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his bidding,

obedient to his spoken word.

Bless the LORD, all his hosts,

his ministers that do his will.

Bless the LORD, all his works,

in all places of his dominion.

Bless the LORD, O my soul.

6 Man and Beast

Animal poems can say as much about people as the beast described …

Poetry is a brilliant vibrating interface between the human and the non-human Edwin Morgan.

Psalm 104

Bless the LORD, O my soul.

O LORD my God, you are very great.

You are clothed with honour and majesty,

wrapped in light as with a garment.

you stretch out the heavens like a tent,

you set the beams of your chambers on the waters,

you make the clouds your chariot,

you ride on the wings of the wind,

you make the winds your messengers,

fire and flame your ministers.

You set the earth on its foundations,

so that it shall never be shaken.

You cover it with the deep as with a garment;

the waters stood above the mountains.

At your rebuke they flee;

at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.

They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys

to the place that you appointed for them.

You set a boundary that they may not pass,

so that they might not again cover the earth.

You make springs gush forth in the valleys;

they flow between the hills,

giving drink to every wild animal;

the wild asses quench their thirst.

By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation;

they sing among the branches.

From your lofty abode you water the mountains;

the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,

and plants for people to use,

to bring forth food from the earth,

and wine to gladden the human heart,

oil to make the face shine,

and bread to strengthen the human heart.

The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,

the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

In them the birds build their nests;

the stork has its home in the fir trees.

The high mountains are for the wild goats;

the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.

You have made the moon to mark the seasons;

the sun knows its time for setting.

You make darkness, and it is night,

when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.

The young lions roar for their prey,

seeking their food from God.

When the sun rises,

they withdraw and lie down in their dens.

People go out to their work

and to their labour until the evening.

O LORD, how manifold are your works!

In wisdom you have made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

7 In and out of love

Poems that are fired up with self-abandonment, with the sheer wild joy of new love.

The best love poems confirm something we secretly felt but never said. Tess Gallagher

Psalm 45

To the leader: according to Lilies. Of the Korahites. A Maskil.

My heart overflows with a goodly theme;

I address my verses to the king;

my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.

You are the most handsome of men;

grace is poured upon your lips;

therefore God has blessed you forever.

Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,

in your glory and majesty.

In your majesty ride on victoriously

for the cause of truth and to defend the right;

let your right hand teach you dread deeds.

Your arrows are sharp

in the heart of the king's enemies;

the peoples fall under you.

Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever.

Your royal sceptre is a sceptre of equity;

you love righteousness and hate wickedness.

Therefore God, your God, has anointed you

with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;

your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.

From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;

daughters of kings are among your ladies of honour;

at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.

Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear;

forget your people and your father's house,

and the king will desire your beauty.

Since he is your lord, bow to him;

the people of Tyre will seek your favour with gifts,

the richest of the people with all kinds of wealth.

The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes;

in many-coloured robes she is led to the king;

behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.

With joy and gladness they are led along

as they enter the palace of the king.

In the place of ancestors you, O king, shall have sons;

you will make them princes in all the earth.

I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations;

therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.

8 My people

When poets portray their people and explore their countries, they must cross what Seamus Heaney calls ‘the frontier of writing’. The language of poetry transforms the familiar into something rich and strangely revealing.

Psalm 146

Praise the LORD!

Praise the LORD, O my soul!

I will praise the LORD as long as I live;

I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

Do not put your trust in princes,

in mortals, in whom there is no help.

When their breath departs, they return to the earth;

on that very day their plans perish.

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the LORD their God,

who made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them;

who keeps faith forever;

who executes justice for the oppressed;

who gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets the prisoners free;

the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.

The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;

the LORD loves the righteous.

The LORD watches over the strangers;

he upholds the orphan and the widow,

but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The LORD will reign forever,

your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the LORD!

9 War and Peace

My subject is war, and the Pity of War,

The poetry is in the pity …

All a poet can do today is warn.

That is why the true Poets must be truthful. Wilfred Owen

Psalm 46

To the leader. Of the Korahites. According to Alamoth. A Song.

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,

though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;

though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy habitation of the Most High.

God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;

God will help it when the morning dawns.

The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;

he utters his voice, the earth melts.

The LORD of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Come, behold the works of the LORD;

see what desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;

he burns the shields with fire.

"Be still, and know that I am God!

I am exalted among the nations,

I am exalted in the earth."

The LORD of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

10 Disappearing Acts

Thom Gunn has said: ‘There’s nothing to write about death; unless you believe in an afterlife.’ This paradox lies behind most modern poetry about death.

Poetry is a way of talking about things that frighten you.

Psalm 139

To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.

O LORD, you have searched me and known me.

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from far away.

You search out my path and my lying down,

and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue,

O LORD, you know it completely.

You hem me in, behind and before,

and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is so high that I cannot attain it.

Where can I go from your spirit?

Or where can I flee from your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, you are there;

if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.

If I take the wings of the morning

and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,

even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light around me become night,"

even the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is as bright as the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

For it was you who formed my inward parts;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.

My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.

In your book were written all the days that were formed for me

when none of them as yet existed.

How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

I try to count them-- they are more than the sand;

I come to the end-- I am still with you.

O that you would kill the wicked, O God,

and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me--

those who speak of you maliciously,

and lift themselves up against you for evil!