A couple weeks ago, Prof. Goldingay gave our class an assignment to write a lament psalm following the general patterns of biblical laments, especially in the Psalter. There was a fair amount of freedom to the assignment and I chose to write a lament as another person, which is a significant theme in biblical laments. It was partially inspired by stories I hear from my wife, who is a public health dietitian. So, this is the resulting psalm:

A Psalm of the Hungry Single Mother in a U.S. City.

Great God, you are the sustainer of the earth,
You have provided the earth with resources to survive.
Living bread, you are the reason I am still breathing,
I don’t go a day without acknowledging the life that flows through my veins.

Yet, my awareness of life is fed by the threat it faces.
The earth is plentiful, but my house is empty.
Because of the geography of my birth, I do not have access to your bounty,
Due to the color of my skin, I have been imprisoned, hidden from salvation.

You apparently are blind to my world,
Unable to see my indestructible obstacles.
My enemies are those who fatten themselves while my children hunger,
They have raped your creation of its goods for their own enjoyment.
They look at me and I am sin, responsible for my own demise,
But their fathers delivered me into this place of darkness.

When their government hands me a few dollars, they give me barely a hope,
When I cash their checks at my grocer, I am spat upon as a parasite.
They have trapped me in their “cycle of poverty,” giving and taking from me as they please,
I am without a hope, dying and passing on death to my children.

Don’t you see what has been done to your provision?
Can’t you understand that they have stolen my food and drink?
When will you be my savior in life?
Did you end your rescuing in Egypt?

The laughter of my children is the source of my tears,
For they will soon see this world without joy.
They will be slaves to the powerful,
Endlessly working to no profit.
If you do not act now, have you given up?
If you do not act now, I can no longer trust.