"A Famine of Words - Psalm of Lament"

The time is surely coming, says the Lord GOD, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it. (Amos 8:11-12 NRSV)

A famine on the land … that’s what he said.

Not a famine of bread
or a thirst for water;
he said, “It will be a famine
of hearing the words of the LORD.

I gasp for air.
I try to keep the tears from flowing.
I feel an emptiness
creep into my whole being.

LORD GOD … NO!
Do not take the hearing
of your words from me.
It IS my bread. It IS my water.
It IS my life-blood.

If all is silent
from you to me, LORD GOD,
I fear that all might fall silent
from me to you,
and from me for you …
for others.

If you do not speak words
in ways that I might hear,
then all of the words
that I know will
become unknown to me.

How can I find my own words
in the darkness of this silence?
There will be no words found
to tell others of your love and promise.
There will be no words found
to tell others of your grace and mercy,
for I will be starving
to hear of these things as well.

Even before you fall silent,
even before such a famine
of the hearing of your words, LORD GOD,
I already hear the gnawing of my heart
and feel a hint of its approaching emptiness.

I am wondering if
you will still hear my prayers.
Will my words to you fall softly
on your heart …
even in your silence?

Others know what it is like
to be hungry of body and soul.
Others know what it is like
to hear the echoes of your silence.
Others know because of
our own neglect and disregard,
not because of you.

Forgive me, O God. Forgive us.
You love without measure.
You delight in our times together.
How it must hurt you
to consider such a famine of words.

Before you fall silent,
What would you have me do, LORD GOD?
What would you have us do?

anna murdock © 2010