"Give Thanks to Jehovah," poetry

Revised Edition: LukivPress (Victoria, BC), 2022.

Introduction

Traditionally, the 150 psalms-songs, praises to Jehovah-have been divided into five books (Book 1, Psalms 1 to 41; Book 2, 42 to 72; Book 3, 73 to 89; Book 4, 90 to 106; and Book 5 [this collection: "Give Thanks to Jehovah"], 107 to 150). Moses (poet-prophet-songwriter) began the work. But not until over one thousand years later, in the postexilic days of 460 BCE, did this emotionally charged book of prophecy that celebrates Jehovah's grandeur and "dynamic energy" and mighty acts of fame come to its close.

An excerpt

Chapter 107

His face, awash with
Swirling waters-
A roaring stampede
Of froth; its
Belly full of fish-
Disappears into his heart,

And the dryness of another
Day reveals sand;
His face, now a desert,
A paradise of scorpions
And thin tufts of grass,
Boasts the odd dwarf
Juniper or gnarled
Tamarisk.

He has changed
As the moon from full
To new, as the day from
Bright to dark,

And the vineyards along
His temples, and fig trees
That adorn his ears,
Have become places
Of salt, vastlands of produce
Removed,
as age that removes
Vitality from limbs
And life from the eye.

And in his heart, where
Waters find themselves like
Joseph in the pit,

The man he once was has become
A bird without wings.

The author

Dan Lukiv, published in 19 countries, is a poet, novelist, columnist, short story and article writer, and independent education researcher (hermeneutic phenomenology). As a creative writer, he apprenticed with Canada's Professor Robert Harlow (recipient of the George Woodcock Achievement award for an outstanding literary career), the USA's Paul Bagdon (Spur Award finalist for Best Original Paperback), and England's D. M. Thomas (recipient of the Cheltenham Prize for Literature, Orwell Prize [biography], Los Angeles Fiction Prize, and Cholmondeley award for poetry). He attended The University of British Columbia (creative writing department), the acclaimed Humber School for Writers (poetry writing program), and Writer's Digest University (novel writing program).