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We Sang a Dirge
We Sang a Dirge is not a manual on lament, but rather a glance into the lament of its author, Lo Alaman. It is a collection of poems, journeys, prayers, and invitations. He offers no answers here, for only Christ has those to give. Poetry doesn?t seek to share facts, but rather to share an experience. You?ll find no politics or advocations for any government except the kingdom of God within these pages. What you will find is a window into the joy and grief of following Jesus in this skin.
We pray these poems are a catalyst that open all sorts of windows (hopefully your own). Biblical lament stems from hope that God has more in mind for His people than the brokenness that they find themselves in. These poems are a window into hope.
We pray these poems are a catalyst that open all sorts of windows (hopefully your own). Biblical lament stems from hope that God has more in mind for His people than the brokenness that they find themselves in. These poems are a window into hope.
- GenresPoetryNonfiction
100 pages, Paperback
Published November 30, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 17, 2022
Raw, honest, challenging, beautiful
December 31, 2022
Beautiful. Powerful. Heartbreaking. Hopeful. Convicting.
January 29, 2021
“The heart is the size of a fist
Vulnerability
Is a splayed palm.”
This book of poems is Lo Alaman’s splayed palm offered to us, a vulnerable, intimate, and beautiful look beyond what Lo thinks about the events of 2020 and into what he feels about them. Split into the parts of Leaning In, Lamenting With, Listening To, and Longing For, these poems emotionally yet graciously bring to light issues of racism, apathy within the church, and the true hope from God for his bride and his creation. The best reflection I can give are a few verses that stuck out to me the most here below:
“You can confess your fear
Without forfeiting your faith
Or offending your Father”
“To want my skin but not my voice is to hunt for pelts
Representation without life is a funeral at best
Don’t invite me to the table if you don’t care what I want to eat.
Or put more simply,
Remember who invited you to the table
And whose house this is in the first place.”
“The Father is a good Conductor
He has staff lines for hands
An honest space for us to place all of our notes
Whether beautiful or broken
I’ve sung many sorrows to Him
I’ve been a playlist of emotions
I cry out before Him time and time again
And each time
He listens”
“I asked
Where’s the church been in all of this?
He said the church is His bride,
And this wasn’t the first time that she had been unfaithful
And that He has grace for even mistakes such as these”
Vulnerability
Is a splayed palm.”
This book of poems is Lo Alaman’s splayed palm offered to us, a vulnerable, intimate, and beautiful look beyond what Lo thinks about the events of 2020 and into what he feels about them. Split into the parts of Leaning In, Lamenting With, Listening To, and Longing For, these poems emotionally yet graciously bring to light issues of racism, apathy within the church, and the true hope from God for his bride and his creation. The best reflection I can give are a few verses that stuck out to me the most here below:
“You can confess your fear
Without forfeiting your faith
Or offending your Father”
“To want my skin but not my voice is to hunt for pelts
Representation without life is a funeral at best
Don’t invite me to the table if you don’t care what I want to eat.
Or put more simply,
Remember who invited you to the table
And whose house this is in the first place.”
“The Father is a good Conductor
He has staff lines for hands
An honest space for us to place all of our notes
Whether beautiful or broken
I’ve sung many sorrows to Him
I’ve been a playlist of emotions
I cry out before Him time and time again
And each time
He listens”
“I asked
Where’s the church been in all of this?
He said the church is His bride,
And this wasn’t the first time that she had been unfaithful
And that He has grace for even mistakes such as these”
January 8, 2021
I bought this book on the recommendation of a friend and am glad I did. It's a small book of 48 poems which appear to have been written during 2020 because of the topical references.
The author states in the preface that he spent a lot of time on the phone / zoom / podcasts talking about hard things pertaining to race. It wasn't until a group asked him how he FELT that he realized he had been trying to offer a more nuanced perspective using facts against facts to hopefully point people toward Jesus. But we weren't getting anywhere "because I was trying to let information do a job that only compassion could do."
I found the poems heartfelt and thoughtful and wrote down lines I particularly liked. A few examples:
"War knows how to end everything except itself
It doesn't conclude
It simply relocates"
from "Post Traumatic Stress"
"We speak of so many funerals
Our native tongue has become bilingual
We are fluent in both English and eulogy"
from "Today We Say Enough"
"For there are no colors on our souls
Nothing here but Your fingerprints"
from "Prayer Against Racial Divides"
Our church has been discussing racism and diversity and I am going to recommend this book.
The author states in the preface that he spent a lot of time on the phone / zoom / podcasts talking about hard things pertaining to race. It wasn't until a group asked him how he FELT that he realized he had been trying to offer a more nuanced perspective using facts against facts to hopefully point people toward Jesus. But we weren't getting anywhere "because I was trying to let information do a job that only compassion could do."
I found the poems heartfelt and thoughtful and wrote down lines I particularly liked. A few examples:
"War knows how to end everything except itself
It doesn't conclude
It simply relocates"
from "Post Traumatic Stress"
"We speak of so many funerals
Our native tongue has become bilingual
We are fluent in both English and eulogy"
from "Today We Say Enough"
"For there are no colors on our souls
Nothing here but Your fingerprints"
from "Prayer Against Racial Divides"
Our church has been discussing racism and diversity and I am going to recommend this book.
January 28, 2021
A great work of poetry by Lo Alaman.
I'm struck by these words in his Informal Invitation
Come kingdom
Come Spirit
Come soon
Amen
I'm struck by these words in his Informal Invitation
Come kingdom
Come Spirit
Come soon
Amen
December 7, 2022
Lo's incredible verse pierces the soul. It is at once profoundly beautiful and terrifying. I feel it is impossible to go through this collection without some sort of self reflection. It challenges all notions of faith, politics, and society, all through the lens of God's love. I cannot recommend these poems enough, and I am sure he will become one of the greats.
May 15, 2021
Honest and heart felt poetry about faith, racial issues, and lamenting/rejoicing in a healthy way.
July 17, 2021
A beautiful book of poems by Lo Alaman, inspired and heartfelt. I could "hear" him saying/rapping some of them as I read them.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews