Psalms of Lament
Weems' son was pointlessly killed "less than an hour after his twenty-first birthday." Her grief has not left her since. She released much of it, however, in these 50 poems. Modeled upon the Psalms of the Bible, they all share the same "plot line" --beginning in painful petition, proceeding through anger and helplessness, and concluding in trust in the Lord who brings all hope. They are repetitious in their tropes as well. The lines of each are centered on the page, thereby resonantly recalling the shaped poems of the English sacred poet George Herbert (the most famous are "Easter Wings" and "The Altar" ). Weems' poems are not as great as Herbert's, but virtually anyone of religious faith who has lost a loved one, especially "before their time," will find fellowship, ministry, and healing in them.Ray Olson