Prisoner of War – a lament

November 9, 2025

Prisoner of War – a lament

There was once a prisoner of war
taken far into the desert.
Ravaged, plundered,
choked near to death.
Clothes torn, left to die.

Sun baking her exposed skin.
Lips blistering from thirst and heat.
She crawled.

She crawled in search of water.

She crawled in search of shelter.

She crawled
even though she burned alive in the sun.

She crawled
until her only breath was sand.

The grace here was her bleeding lungs,
shredded by grains of broken things
whittled down by time,
drowned her from the inside.

She crawled until she couldn’t
and everything stopped.

There comes a point
with enough strain
and enough pain,
when one no longer possesses
even the strength it takes
to cry.

But then, the mercy of the Lord.

_{Author’s Note: Here is another lament found in a notebook of mine from last year. For the sake of honesty and authenticity, and even vulnerability on the Christan path, I added a new category on this website. Laments will be featured here, in addition to praise and other poems, prayers, and contemplations related to experiences walking The Way.}

Lament, Mercy, Poetry

Abuse, Christian poems, Christian poetry, God, Lament, Pain, poem, spiritual war, Struggle, survival, Trauma

Posted by:

S. Naify

Writing to make sense of living, finding beauty where I can.

2 responses to “Prisoner of War – a lament”

Kip Retzer

November 10, 2025 at 1:38 am

Season, these laments are painfully beautiful. This one reminds me of the metaphorical story that God told Ezekiel (Chp 160) about the discarded newborn that God pulled out of the dirt on the day of its birth. That, to me, is one of the most beautiful portraits of the heart of God that we have in the Bible.

I use it at the beginning of my testimony now, every time I share it because of verse 6. “And when I passed you by and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’.

Even typing this verse for you brings tears to my eyes because, when I was cutting my veins by the water that night, this was the exact, singular word that God said to me when He walked by me, as I was covered in blood and dying, and He said to me, “Live!”

I am so overjoyed, and, in a way, proud to see you emptying your heart to others around you again. I can’t even begin to know the aching that you have in your heart or the seemingly never-ending battles that you fight, but I know that Jesus walks beside you always and suffers when you suffer.

We will never know in this life the reason for the fires that God leads us through, but I just want to remind you that it’s to purify you. These battles are God’s plan for leading you home, not His lack of compassion for you. I often forget that when I am lowered back into darkness and sometimes, even demonic oppression.

Just remember you have friends over here, on the other side of the world, who are praying for you and are here for you always.

God bless you guys. Please tell Jason “Hi”. Miss and love you both.

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1. Kip Retzer
  
  November 10, 2025 at 1:38 am
  
  Chapter 16, not 160. oops!
  
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