I recently gave an assignment to my 15 high school students to write a lament in iambic pentameter. I decided to try it myself. I cannot say I followed all of the guidelines but anyway, here it is. It doesn’t have a title.
This life is long with trials coming in
Like ocean waves continuing to roll
Temptations, too would seek to draw me in,
Attempting damage; wreckage to my soul.
Then failure puts a stake into the ground
Proclaiming condemnation with a shout.
He says to me, “Your sinful heart is bound
To fail; you’ve ruined life; you can’t get out”.
Like rain, despair bombards my soul with guilt.
He drenches every part and weighs me down
With thoughts of doom and gloom my prison’s built
And now despair rejoices that I drown.
But wait! O soul, why do you swell in grief
When Jesus broke the stinging hold of sin?
He dwells within your heart; you have belief
He dying for your sin, your soul did win!
So victory is mine because it’s His
I share in His dominion over death.
No longer listen to despair, but this –
That hope is mine with every passing breath.
Be steadfast, soul, when trials come your way.
Rejoice in God’s refining fire of love
That He would save you from yourself each day,
Made fit to dwell at home with Him above.
Temptations, I have power over you
Through Jesus Christ, who broke that hold on me.
Resistance, with my eyes on Christ will do
To help me walk aright in victory.
And when I fail, I’ll not despair or brood.
The humbleness will do me good and I’ll
Remember Jesus Christ whose daily food
Gives hope and sustenance in every trial.
O Praise the Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
One God who is Creator of the world,
Redeemer and Sustainer of the lost
Whose glory in His-story is unfurled!
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Great poem, Mom!
Mom, that was amazing! I really like it a lot! My favorite line is “Like rain, despair bombards my soul with guilt.” You should keep writing poetry 🙂
Very nice! I’m glad you wrote it and shared it with us. Thanks!
Thank you. I appreciated you sharing that with us.
Beautiful, Aunt Janice! It is a good picture of real life–thanks for the encouragement!
I like your poem, Aunt Janice. I like how you personified despair, failure, and temptations.
I really liked the poem, Janice and I too think you should keep writing. I was going to write a post but I will just say here what I was going to write because it fits in with what you wrote about. I was going to ask prayer for my family. My Mom is in a deep depression and it is her 3rd so we have dealt with this before. It is hard to watch her go through it again. Not that your poem is necessarily about deep depression because we all despair at one time or another. Her closest sister died recently, my Dad’s Alzheimer’s is progressing more rapidly and she has an alcoholic sister who lives 2 blocks away and demands her time so we have shared with her that she has reason to be down. However, she is doubting her salvation among other things and has very dark thoughts. She did try to hurt herself in her other depressions and so she needs to be watched carefully. She grew up Pentecostal and we feel like she has not clearly understood the Gospel. Gary was able to help her the other day and is preparing some things for her. I have been on the phone every day with my siblings for the past 2 weeks. The Lord has used this time to help her see some things she needed to talk about with one of my sisters. Thank you in advance for your prayers for her and for us to know how to help her.
I’ve been a’prayin’!
Do you mind if I share your poem with Phyllis’ mom?
Gary, I don’t mind at all. And Audrey, there is nothing in particular. It just came out of my Bible reading that day and embodies a life time of experiences. Don’t worry.
Thank you for such a good reminder of the hope that is in me/us!