The Story Behind the Writing of “A Poem of Lament: Are you there?”

I was at a gathering where we were learning about the different types of content in the Bible, e.g. parables, poems, etc. Apparently, about one-third of the content is poems and of that, 40% of the poems are laments.

These ancient poems were of a different style than more modern poems, usually not using rhythm or rhyme.

Near the end of the discussion, we broke into groups so that each group could create their own lament. We could use an overarching structure of Thanksgivings => Concerns => Trust, or any other approach we wanted.

During the exercise, a concept came to me for a lament but I was unable to develop it in that environment where others were talking. I need quietness to ponder creative ideas. So I decided to write my lament as soon as I got home. I did, however, jot down a lot of words that came to me regarding my concept.

Once I got home, I avoided social media, email, and all entertainment options, since I didn’t want to lose my concept. I started by typing each of those jotted down words into a Google document. There were over 40 words.

I pondered the ideas for a while but when I started writing the lament, it didn’t mesh with my original concept. I kept writing, one section at a time, then pausing to think. This wasn’t my concept yet I still felt compelled to continue writing.

This went on for a while and something unrelated to my concept had emerged.

Patterns Appeared

I reread it a few times, tweaking a word here and there and I started to see patterns in the various sections or paragraphs. These were not planned.

It followed the suggested “Thanksgiving, Concerns, Trust” structure that had been provided. Of the six sections, section 1 was Thanksgiving, sections 2–5 were Concerns, section 6 was Trust.

For the odd sections (1, 3, 5), the first 1–2 words of each sentence began with the topic word. For sections 2 and 4, each sentence was structured “As this, therefore that.” Further, section 2 was inward focused (“As I…”) and section 4 was upward focused (“As You…”).

In the first half (sections 1–3), words denoting God or Lord (e.g. “You”) were not capitalized as this section goes downhill quickly. However, in the second half, as requests begin to be made, the overdue respect of capitalizing these words emerges.

In section 3, as the writer is feeling more and more alone, the first three sentences have their own structure, but in the fourth sentence impatience and despair disrupts its cadence prematurely blurting out “Are you there?” I’ve decided to use this encapsulation phrase in the lament’s title: “A Poem of Lament: Are you there?”

In the last section, each sentence no longer has a shared structure like the other sections. “I trust” begins the first sentence, and that trust continues to flow in each subsequent sentence with the beginnings of “That,” and “And that”. The first sentence is about a person’s life coming to an end, yet the last sentence portrays that the torch has already been passed to the next generation. The second sentence affirms that life in His will is full of a rich tapestry of interactions, and the third and fourth sentences outline that the outcome is not the result of any one individual, but of a well-harmonized and focused group effort over time.

I don’t know where all of that came from. None of it was planned other than the “Thanksgiving, Concerns, Trust” approach, and it had nothing to do with the concept that had developed in my mind.

You can read my lament here (A Poem of Lament: Are you there?)