This is basically Psalm 80 rewritten as a sonnet. Shared with the Tuesday platform at Real Toads.
O God of hosts, come bring us back again,
Save us with light shining from Your face,
Why do You frown upon our plea? Soften
Your gaze, and every sorrow please efface.
As bread we have been given tears to eat,
And still more salty tears to be our drink,
We feel from enemies naught but defeat
As day by day our souls more and more shrink.
You planted a vine out of Egypt’s land,
Let boars and beasts ravage the vine no more!
Listen, give life and strength with Your right hand,
We call upon Your name and now implore!
Defeat and destitution now oppress,
But we believe in lasting happiness.
revivedwriter 
A lovely rewriting!
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The salty bread, the salty tears…….very sad, and, as Rosemary notes, a wonderful retelling.
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Nice, very nice RW. I went back to my Bible and read Ps. 80 and a few notes before writing here. Those poor Israelites in the north really had it bad. Asaph, author, and of the priestly tribe, was feeling sooo much lament after being run over by the Assyrians. Either they became subject or as some could, fled to the south. Much as is going on in the region now from ISIS and the Taliban extremists. You can feel the priest pleading out of feelings of sorrow for those, both here in your writing and in the Psalm itself.
Oh yes, thank you for visiting me for the Licorice health menace.
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Lasting happiness… that’s true.
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Lovely – the sonnet form works so well here. And you capture an important aspect of the ancient Hebrews – how they wrote about defeat – not a common thing in the ancient world – or the modern one.
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