.

free him, and he would weep into my neck,

      my hands in his hair . . .

      36I know, O Lord, that You have chosen this path for me,

      and that it has meaning even without the spoken word.

      37I know, also, that because my mouth is silent

      my thoughts are all the louder.

      You surely hear them. 38You surely disapprove,

      at times. But let me keep them.

      Though they nag and disturb,

      and become lusty and base.

      39You may chastise me for them, O Lord, in measure.

      40But let me keep them, lest I become naught,

      as silent inside as out,

      a numb thing,

      with no self to keep herself company.

      11

      The covenant which Anatiya wrote ~