“Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit?
Or wither shall I flee from Thy Presence?
If I take the WINGS of the MORNING
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea
Even there shall Thy hand lead me
And Thy right hand shall hold me.
If I say surely the darkness shall cover me
Then the night shall be light about me.”
– – – –
A personal diety, whom one would address as Thou, is not part of my spiritual imagination, yet some of the Psalms resonate with me, as do these (selected) lines from Psalm 139. They also remind me of the second and last verses of an old-favorite poem, by Yeats:
The LAKE ISLE OF INNISFREE
-William Butler Yeats
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer. and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
– – – – –
Sometimes when anxiety, or fear these Covid days, threaten to take over, I can reach down to “my deep heart’s core” and know that I do have some peace there, even if sometimes, “peace comes dropping slow” ! And even in “the uttermost parts of the sea” with darkness covering me, I will have some Light there, and Peace there, in my deep heart’s core, by whatever name one wishes to call it.
To anyone who has to fly to the uttermost parts, through illness or other circumstances: may you be blessed with Peace.