Psalm That Strives for Footing

By: Kathy Pon

She stumbles and friends pretend

not to notice, and she pretends too.

She stumbles on her blind spots, ruptured

truths, struggles and backslides in slicks

of self-doubt. As she stumbles, she faces

her flaws, is humbled by her clumsiness.

Strangers stare at her clunky shoes

while they tie their own laces tighter.

Shuffling on shaky terrain, she does not

expect her body will become graceful,

only prays her legs won’t buckle.

Stumbling lands her in dark places,

fumbling, weeping, wondering if God

has forgotten her. When her soul whispers

calm, it lullabies her tumbling down,

down where she is lifted by strange angles

she sees looking up. Again, her clay feet

crumble. She stumbles into sinners’

cathedrals, mistakes greatness for grace.

Yet in such jungles, she is made holy.

Blessed are those who pick her up

when she stumbles,

who lend their arm so she can stand.

Despite aching bones, a body quaking

fatigue, healing that takes long stretches

of time. In her grounding she glimpses

at fissures that break her, revises her

rising until her feet are planted.

Blessed is she who accepts her stumbling

who, entering into the mystery of struggle,

finds the divine in her missteps, the muscle

that nourishes, encourages broken

bodies forward: Carry on, carry on.

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Kathy lives on an almond orchard in California with her husband and two dogs. Her chapbook, Orchard Language (Finishing Line Press) was published in September, 2025. Her work has been featured in Pine Row Press, Rockvale Review, Passengers Journal, Canary, RockPaperPoem, The Closed Eye Open and other places.