Descriptor:
This resource relating to Psalm 34:15-22 provides a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) highlighting the cost of transgressions and a poem by Mary Oliver (1935-2019) highlighting the acceptance of decay and renewal.
Paid Resource:
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Requires FREE Account:
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Lectionary:
Revised Common Lectionary
Source:
Englewood Review
Related to Children or Youth:
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Audio/Video:
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Full Text:
*** Revised Common Lectionary ***
Lectionary Reading:
Psalm 34:15-22
CLASSIC POEM:
The Debt
Paul Laurence Dunbar
This is the debt I pay
Just for one riotous day,
Years of regret and grief,
Sorrow without relief.
Pay it I will to the end —
Until the grave, my friend,
Gives me a true release —
Gives me the clasp of peace.
Slight was the thing I bought,
Small was the debt I thought,
Poor was the loan at best —
God! but the interest!
*** This poem is in the public domain,
and may be read in a live-streamed worship service.
CONTEMPORARY POEM:
In Blackwater Woods
Mary Oliver
SNIPPET:
Look, the trees
are turning
their own bodies
into pillars
of light,
are giving off the rich
fragrance of cinnamon
and fulfillment,
[ READ THE FULL POEM ]
Content Type:
Key Scriptures:
Psalm 34:15-22
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Non English Resource:
RCL Lectionary Week:
Year B Proper 16 (Ordinary Time 21)