David's Harp Poem by gershon hepner

They say that’s David harp would always wake
the psalmist king at midnight. Like a clock,
it would alarm him from his sleep, and make
him turn to thoughts of God, so writer’s block
was never any problem for this king.
The nightly harpsounds David heard would pluck
his heart, enabling him to write and sing
one hundred fifty psalms. When I feel stuck,
without ideas to sing about and write,
I think of David, wishing that I had
a harp like his to wake me in the night,
and interrupt my dreams, both good and bad,
so that I could record them all. Instead,
my verse can’t capture the mysterious thoughts
that come to me at night while in my bed,
so badly edited in my reports.

R. Shimon Hasida said: “David hung his harp above his bed and when midnight would arrive the north wind would blow upon the harp (vibrating the strings) and causing music to emanate. David would immediately rise and begin studying Torah. He would continue his studies even as the first light of dawn appeared in the sky.” Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 3b. (BabylonianTalmud Berakhot 3b)

1/25/09