How you lifted me
Upon eagles’ wings
When I despaired
I’d not recover
Nor swoon over grandchildren.

You swooped down
And plucked me from the pit
As a father snatches a child
From a dangerous sea
And a bird hovers over her nest
Turning tenderness into ferocity
When her fledgling is threatened.

In an instant I
Forlorn
Was restored to life.

So swiftly you came
Streaking across skies
To set me gently
Upon pinions
And shield me
From malignancy
And hunter’s arrows
From inert Sheol
And loneliness
Relentlessly beckoning
Like gravity on lead.

Higher than mountains
You lifted me
Insignificant and small
You robed in grandeur
Aided by healers
You attending from Your perch
Drawing me close
To them and You.

How can I repay them for my restored life?
How can I praise You?

Poem by Rabbi John L. Rosove – inspired by Exodus 19:4