by Jeffrey Essmann

Sometimes I read the Psalms
With somewhat the aplomb
Of one who to a play attends
And feels the piece’s swell
Although he knows full well
Exactly how the drama ends.

I hear the psalmist churn
As restlessly he yearns
For a redemption yet unseen,
But inwardly I smile
At yearning reconciled
By someone called The Nazarene.

Jeffrey Essmann is an essayist and poet living in New York. His poetry has appeared in numerous magazines and literary journals, among them Dappled Things, the St. Austin Review, The Society of Classical Poets, Amethyst Review, Agape Review, America Magazine, U.S. Catholic, Heart of Flesh Literary Journal, Edge of Faith, Pensive, and various venues of the Benedictine monastery with which he is an oblate. He is editor of the Catholic Poetry Room page on the Integrated Catholic Life website.