Lament

She asked us to lament.

Lie down on the floor

weep, wail, wring our hands

learn suffering’s sound.

Unsure of this teacher

permitting us grief

we tentative students

persisted at blind happiness.

O! To reclaim that

blessed invitation.

Now my cry,

“my God, my God,

why have you forsaken us?”

would swallow the silence,

Subdue the void

left by that absence.

I would give heartbreak its voice,

sing agony’s crooked tune.

I would gnash my teeth

fashion sack cloth

drench my head in ashes.

If remorse could

stop Death from cradling

babies in his unrelenting arms,

if sorrow could melt

weapons like wax;

repentance dry the eyes

of every parent

of every child lost,

no sense, nor reason,

then I proclaim my remorse.

Shout apologies to the heavens.

I turn back, turn around,

change direction,

heed the prophet’s call.

Only Comforter, speak comfort. 

Cry hope. 

Soften stony hearts.

Reshape new from old, living from dying.

Teach us life, teach us love.

My God, my God, hear our lament.