Poem 2 (PD 19)

Lord,
what a menagerie!
Between Your downpour and these animal cries
one cannot hear oneself think!
The days are long.
All this water makes my heart sink.
When will the ground cease to rock under my feet?
The days are long.
Master Raven has not come back.
Here is Your dove.
Will she find us a twig of hope?
The days are long,
Lord.
Guide Your Ark to safety,
some zenith of rest,
where we can escape at last
from this brute slavery.
The days are long,
Lord.
Lead me until I reach the shore of Your covenant.
Amen.

From: Prayers from the Ark, selected Poems by Carmen Bernos de Gasztold, Translated by Rumer Godden. Puffin Books, @1995. Original English text copyright @1962.