Sojourner Songs by Ben Palpant
If you’ve never read (or considered reading) a book of poems, Sojourner Songs by Ben Palpant is a great starting place. Palpant, who is from Spokane and teaches at The Oaks, starts off confessing that he himself once considered poetry “more like a strange uncle than a friend for most of [his] life.” But he says he eventually learned that “[p]oetry is written by commoners who know what it’s like to suffer … they know what it’s like to enjoy simple, common pleasures, too, and they enjoy waking us, complete strangers, to those gifts of moments” (19).
In this collection of poems, organized in four sections according to the “liturgical hours,” Palpant’s inspiration is straight from Scripture. He is clear that he is not attempting to translate or give poetic renderings of verses from the Bible, but his poems attempt to capture the “central spirit of the passage and its poignancy in [his] life.” He often includes Scripture references at the end of poems, and the last part of the book has the full text of those biblical passages.
As a writer of poetry myself, what I love most about these poems is the beauty of language that captures emotions evocatively. These lines from the poem “Bright Fire” were especially captivating:
Your works, O Lord, astonish me!
You, composer, conductor, star.
You, a kaleidoscope of love.
You are my horizon and my here.
You are the moon to the tides of my heart.
These poems will help you to worship the Lord more deeply, find comfort in painful times, and help you savor the small delights of life. Read the whole book through or pick poems for different moments—all of them will be a blessing to your soul.
Lydia is a teacher, poet, and blogger, who serves various ministries here at Faith. You can read more of her writing and subscribe to her blog at lydiakinne.com.
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