Songs for di Road

Di road steep, di sun hot, and di hills for front be like say dem no go ever finish. Somewhere for di line of travellers, somebody begin sing. And one by one, di others join.

For Israel of old, di law of Moses ask God people make dem come Jerusalem for di big festivals: Passover for spring, di Feast of Weeks for early summer, and di Feast of Tabernacles for autumn. Whole villages go comot together, families and neighbours, dey waka for days. Jerusalem sit high for di hills, so every road wey go there dey climb. Inside di book of Psalms, one small collection of fifteen songs dey, Psalm one hundred and twenty reach one hundred and thirty-four. Each one get di same heading: Song of Degrees, or Song of Ascents. Songs for going up. Plenty people believe say na dese songs pilgrims dey sing as dem dey climb. Make we waka with dem.

Imagine one family for road. Dem load di donkey with food and blankets. Di children leg dey pain dem. Di road dey bend pass rocky hills, di kind place where thieves fit hide, where leg fit slip for loose stones. And one papa raise im head and sing: I go lift up my eyes to di hills, where my help dey come from? Na real question. Where help dey come from, for dis place? And di answer come back, maybe from di whole group: My help dey come from Di Lord, wey make heaven and earth. No be from di hills. From di One wey make di hills.

Di song continue, and e sound like blessing wey dem dey talk over traveller. E no go allow your leg slip. Di One wey dey watch over you no go sleep. In fact, di One wey dey keep Israel no dey slumber and e no dey sleep. For night, when di family lie down near di fire and somebody dey keep watch, dem fit remember say God na di real watchman. Di Lord na your shade for your right hand, na so di song talk. Di sun no go strike you for afternoon, and di moon no go strike you for night. Then di last lines, like hand wey dem put for your shoulder: Di Lord go keep your going out and your coming in, from now go reach forever. Every step of di journey, and every journey wey go follow.

And then, after days of waka, dem cross di last ridge, and see am there. Jerusalem. Di walls, di gates, di temple wey dey shine for im hill. Now di song change. Psalm one hundred and twenty-two, one song of David, burst out: I happy when dem talk to me say, Make we go inside di house of Di Lord. Our legs dey stand inside your gates, Jerusalem! Di tribes of Israel dey come up here together to give thanks to di name of Di Lord. And di pilgrims finish with prayer for di city itself: Pray for di peace of Jerusalem. Make peace dey inside your walls. Because of my family and my friends, I go talk say, peace be with you. Strangers from every corner of di land, wey arrive as one people, dey pray for peace.

One old Jewish tradition dey about dese songs. Di Mishnah, one collection of Jewish teaching wey dem write down around di year two hundred, describe di temple for Jerusalem. E talk say fifteen steps dey wey climb from di Court of di Women go di inner court, and say dem match di fifteen Songs of Ascents wey dey Psalms. For dose steps, e talk, di Levites dey stand and sing. Fifteen steps, fifteen songs of going up.

You go find dese two songs for Psalm one hundred and twenty-one and one hundred and twenty-two. Songs for leg wey don tire for long road, and one shout of joy for di end. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. When di road for your front look long or hard, where you dey look for help?