Out of the Depths
from Ps130;
Jonah 2:2-9

I was cast into the water;
    into the heart of the darkness.
Where was land? Which way? How close?

Sea...storm...seen.
    Currents swirled.
         Waves  broke.
   Face born.
              Forlorn.
     Again.
No friend.
    Seaweed wrapped.

Head attacked.
     Still attached.
         Mummy me.
           Ripped the wrap.

Submerged.
   Kick urged
        face up.
Broke wet black.
    Air attacked
       for breath.
Air found.
   Water also.
      Acked. Hacked. Balacked.
        Sputtered. Hand raked wet face.
          More water kicked.
             Arms fought water for flight.

Heavy clothes made fatigue heavier.
Gravity plus water weight.
The weight of the clothes pulled down.

I don't have the strength to keep my head
above water.
   My head submerged. I swam.
I lost strength.
I lost hope.
I lost sight of who I am.
I was swallowed by the deep.

The currents pushed me around
                                    as I sunk down.

Consciousness  dimmed.
I felt that I would drown.
I cried for help from the depths.

Out of the depths, I cried:
Help!
Somebody? Anybody? God?

I'm going down.
What am I supposed to do?
Darkness engulfed me.

I saw nothing but shadows; felt nothing but numb;
heard nothing but a high pitched pulse
pushing out; reaching for land.

It was like I had been swallowed by a whale.

I swam. I crested. I gasped for air;
grasped for breath and sank.

I swam more towards shore.
I lost strength and floated up.

The cycle repeated.

Time became endless.

Waves washed my soul to shore.
It was grand to reach land.

Barely alive; with heavy breathing;
I was so happy; I lost consciousness
and dreamed that I had died.

When I woke
                     it was like heaven.
Light touched my eyes; reached my mind;
warmed my body.

Air touched my nose; reached my lungs;
filled my blood with oxygen.

Wet clothing clung to my flesh; saturated my pores;
pulled my body to the warmth of the shifting sands.

If condemnation for error were justified,
who could stand? Learning from experience
comes with testing for tolerance.

Forgiveness tempers anger
with the remembrance of fear.

Judgement is reserved for the correction
of misdirection as the basis for choice
in behavior.

My soul seeks insight,
more than morning waits for dawn
to show light,
more than dawn waits
for the earth's rotation
to shine right

for

Sight, the seat of light,
wait for your insight
in touch with feeling.
Redemption comes  
when earning is learned.

Education grows when instruction
is tested for knowledge.

Conception reads perception
to feed the correction of deception
about greed in the need for providence.

Survival prospers with faith
for salvation.