Roots That Wither

Meaning in Psalm 9

Alfred D. Byrd

THE NATIONS that honor a dream of might—
Of wealth for a few, but work for the rest—
Will prosper awhile and win admirers,
Looking with envy at toys and guns
That offer status and keep it secure.
In cities that rise against the heavens,
Strongmen oppress the meek and faithful,
Helpless as far as the world can tell.
To those who look no deeper than skin
And see the present as fixed for all time,
This world, for all of its pain, is good,
A place for parties without an end.
A show of glitter distracts one's eyes
From roots that wither, seated in sand,
And can't withstand a wind of judgment
Ready to blow at the will of God.

Although the day of redress seems far
To those who suffer outside the mansions,
Judgment is coming on all who do wrong.
The acts of the proud have planted the seeds
Of ruin within their life of fun;
The traps that they set to catch the poor
Will spring on the proud, and none will mourn.
The cities constructed on blood will be dust
That drifts away on the winds of change.
A truth of the proud inspires a proverb:
"Shortly after the mighty have fallen,
No one recalls their names or their deeds."

Our God in heaven endures forever,
Watching our acts and choosing a time
To raise the righteous and lower the wicked.
Nothing can speed or delay our God
In doing what's right, as the One Who sees all
Alone can judge with wisdom and love.
At a time of God's, the nations will fall,
But we who look to our God in faith
Will receive our hope, a time of peace
Without an end with the One above.
While we wait through griefs, let us trust in God
And do what's right in the world below.

If this poem spoke to you, you may enjoy my Biblical epic poems

A Song of the One, the age-old account of Creatlon, Fall, Redemption, and Glory retold in verse for a new millennium, and

The Stars Bow Down: An Epic of Joseph, the timeless tale of a favorite son whose brothers sold him into slavery, but whom God raised from a prison to save the known world from famine.