Art Student's Psalm
(Loosely based on Psalm 102, which is known to some as the addict's psalm)
Help me O Lord for the waters have come up to my neck
And my deadlines drawn near
Do not hide your face from me in the day of my trouble
Incline your ear to me
When I cry to you answer me speedily
For my days are consumed like smoke
My bones burn like a hearth
My heart is withered like grass within me
So that I forget to take my Prozac
There is not one clean mug upon my shelves
And the mess in my house accuses me
I have run out of glue
I am like a heron of the wilderness
I am like an owl of the marshes
I am like a sparrow alone on a housetop
I am awake all night in a sea of photographs
And all my best-loved images are cast into the bin
Oh do not blunt the edge of my craft knife
Or cause my ruler to slip
All day long my friends reproach me
"What good is it and what use will your diploma be to you?"
They ask if there will be a job at the end of it
And in their hearts they suspect me of madness
But you O Lord endure forever
You made the earth and the heavens
The sea and the dry land
The creative process is not a mystery to you
Nor are you deflected from your purpose
Help me to complete my brief briefly
Cause a work to emerge
From the devastation that surrounds me
To glorify your name
Or at least to pass the assessments
Wenda Taylor
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