Struggles and Songs - Psalms Chapter 6 - Tehilim Poetry

Its time to return to the world of Tehilim for a sixth round of poetry based on the timeless words of King David. In this chapter the verse that stuck out to me was, "כִּ֤י אֵ֣ין בַּמָּ֣וֶת זִכְרֶ֑ךָ בִּ֝שְׁא֗וֹל מִ֣י יֽוֹדֶה־לָּֽךְ" which translates to "For there is no memory of You in death, in the grave who will thank You?".

The concept I came up with is quite an interesting one, as it does not necessarily steer towards the path of the actual meaning of the words. To explain what I mean: The original words of King David are understood to mean that he is asking G-d to not kill him, for then, if he were to die, he would be unable to praise or thank G-d, hence he asks "In the grave who will thank You?"

My understanding of this verse, which I have based the poem on, is that even when someone is struggling with so many issues in his life, that people look at him and believe him to be - and I use these words carefully - "mentally dead", or in other words, that his suffering has killed him inside, has made him depressed and angry, such a person can still look up at the heavens, towards G-d and praise Him, thank Him, sing to Him.

So now these holy words of King David have taken on new meaning, as if to say, "Even in times of darkness and death, who will thank You? I will".

Of course, this is not the actual meaning of the words, but rather, my own interpretation of what they mean.

I hope, though, with this new understanding of the verse in mind, you will enjoy the read and relate to the poems message.

Best Wishes,

Yitzy Schweitzer

Struggles and Songs - Psalms Chapter 6 - Tehilim Poetry

People see me, they notice the shadows around my eyes,

I know what they are thinking, although I can't read their minds,

They see the memories of hurt, stories of difficulties,

They think I am sad, that darkness is my reality.

I know I have that gaze,

I know you can see the marks on my face,

But no, I am not broken or permanently bruised,

I am not crushed by my falls, but rather built anew.

Because despite my struggles and countless scars of pain,

My tears still are joyous, they are soft like rain,

I have my own nightmares, yes, many of them, if you need to know,

But they only strengthen my voice, for my song I sing wherever I go.

In times where people think, I am losing the war,

I praise and thank G-d like never before,

I know it looks like I am falling apart,

I can tell you, I am not, I am not even about to start.

My mind, yes sometimes leads me down darkened paths,

Waiting to break me, to see my crumble at its wrath,

But I sing as around me, my terrors scream,

They cannot carry a note anyways, so to be on my stage is worse than a dream.

They try, oh so many times,

To see if they can get me to cry,

As I said, if I do it's from happiness and love,

Because I know I am a child of the one above.