We had an “Art Night” at the last Ichthus Thursday night meeting of Fall 2020 and, alongside some delightful student offerings, I read this one there. I chose it because it represents sort of an ‘aha’ moment for me about the role of art. I have found that writing poetry over these last three years has been therapeutic — specifically, super healthy for my actual brain with its sin-riddled disintegratory tendency to be left-brain heavy (see “The Station Will Be Truly Grand” for related themes). So as we had a night celebrating God’s gift of art and even HOW and WHY it is such a gift, it was fitting to read a poem where I realized how poetry itself, the very genre, might be an essential component of why songs/Psalms of lament “worked” so well for the Hebrews. The ‘aha’ actually came when I was in a pretty mentally anguished state and had the thought to try to write/wrestle it out in poetry … the hard-to-put-into-words joy that poetry is began to seep into my agony to where, lo and behold, the world seemed a bit lighter by the end of the poem… When this happened again within the week, I took note, as for me, journaling/prose has NOT always been a tool to help ease my mind, but can actually find me in an even blacker hole. (I know for others journaling does help, and it actually used to help me. But there was something just different about poetry … for which I was (and am) grateful!)
PATHWAY TO HOPE
Laments are poems—
Ah! I get it … like never before
That’s why they end happy
A way to be before the Lord
Rage and terror, famine, sword
Overwhelmed by life and yet
Creative joy shows safety net
Like Frodo gazing to the sky
Perspective burst, despair defy
Structured tool to funnel pain
Speaks to soul, marries brain
In darkness black and agony
A glimmer stirs inside of me
Art’s goodness taps a wellspring true
And lubricates stuck praise to You
Nothing’s changed fear tries to say
But true-lens whisper saves the day
Something’s changed,
that something’s me
And Jesus wins the victory
Laments are poems—
Unexpected gift to this dear son
May I use them and be free