Animal Psalms
Alfred Nicol
June/July 2008

The Skunk (Psalm 23)

I am anointed too,
brushed with his broad mark.
He leads me safely through
the alley in the dark.The Mockingbird (Psalm 98)

Hub of the whirligig,
he is my perch and poise.
I pour from a high twig
a round of joyful noise.The Sheep (Psalm 119)

Tepid, woolly, I stray,
leaving the path behind me.
It's really the best way:
my shepherd's glad to find me.The Bumblebee (Psalm 19)

I sense him everywhere,
like pollen far-flung,
heavy on the air
as sweetness on the tongue.