Psalms of Lament

Illustration of "Mourning Dove" by Linda Southern

Psalms of Lament
by Ann Weems

2007 marks the twenty-fifth year since our son’s death. You would think that after 25 years I could keep a tear from running down my face. You would think I could keep a quaver out of my voice. But there are those times when the tears come and the voice quavers, and I am simply not in control. In those times, Todd’s death seems like yesterday.

Sometimes, however, I feel as though the pain of his death is a part of me, somehow woven into the very fiber of my body and of my soul—adhered, embedded, unrelentingly burned into my being. It goes where I go; it lives where I live. At those times, it seems as though his death has lived with me for a hundred years.

Ann Weems is a poet and author of seven books published by Westminster John Knox Press. She servced on the committee that wrote The Brief Statement of Faith and wrote a series of poems for Horizons based on the 2004–2005 Horizons Bible study, What She Said: Quotable Women in Scripture.

Illustration of "Mourning Dove" by Linda Southern

Other Articles Online This Issue


*What has Ann learned—about death, grieving and faith—in the 25 years since her son's death? Find out by reading the full text of this article in the March/April 2007 issue of Horizons!*	Psalms of Lament by Ann Weems 2007 marks the twenty-fifth year since our son’s death. You would think that after 25 years I could keep a tear from running down my face. You would think I could keep a quaver out of my voice. But there are those times when the tears come and the voice quavers, and I am simply not in control. In those times, Todd’s death seems like yesterday. Sometimes, however, I feel as though the pain of his death is a part of me, somehow woven into the very fiber of my body and of my soul—adhered, embedded, unrelentingly burned into my being. It goes where I go; it lives where I live. At those times, it seems as though his death has lived with me for a hundred years. *Ann Weems* is a poet and author of seven books published by Westminster John Knox Press. She servced on the committee that wrote The Brief Statement of Faith and wrote a series of poems for Horizons based on the 2004–2005 Horizons Bible study, What She Said: Quotable Women in Scripture. Illustration of "Mourning Dove" by Linda Southern Other Articles Online This Issue Too Close for Comfort Psalms of Lament Preparing for a Death in the Family Death with Dignity Animals Are People, Too Installation Service for Presbyterian Women Dispatch from Forbearance Unconventional Grace Nurturing Our Faith Supporting Mission Mosaic Health Connections	Current Issue March/April 2007 About This Issue Features PW Resources Departments FREE Resource Mar/Apr Index How to Use In Our Next Issue Items underlined can be seen in this Web site, all others appear in the March/April 2007 (HZN-07-210) issue of Horizons magazine. to Horizons, call 800/524-2612 or this issue ($4 plus shipping/handling)

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