Book Review…Poetic art takes front seat

Dec 28, 2014 Book Review…, Features / Columnists

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Book: Divinely Empowered: Poems and Prayers for your Inspiration

Author: Sophia Sam

Reviewer: Dr Glenville Ashby

 

Books geared to uplifting the crestfallen are everywhere. Maybe, it reflects the tired, broken and confused state of the world.  A dose of inspiration never hurts. Admittedly, though, inspirational material can be trite and redundant, failing to deliver on its expressed promise. So where does that leave Sophia Sam’s Divinely Empowered? ‎

It may very well rank among the best of its genre. Throughout, Sam’s fluidly switches from counselling to being a direct conduit of her Creator. This is not a run-of-the-mill literary exercise. Neither can it be the product of only the intellect. It requires a gifted poet whose words pour with grace without conscious thought.

Sam’s ‘Divinely Empowered’ raises the poetic bar with muse-like flashes of bewildering brilliance.
 Not that Sam should be credentialed in the vein of Victorian poets, classical  Grecian bards, or the riveting ‘conscious’ poets of the Caribbean. There are multiple moments when she slips into simplistic rhetoric, speaking to her audience in a condescending tone. But while her depth and austerity may just fall short, she well compensates with literary shape-shifting.

It is uncanny, and really the work of a poet arguably under mediumistic control, or, as Sam will testify, under the influence of the Holy Spirit. This is where she has bettered the wrenching and sometimes vengeful, bombastic invocations of the Davidic tradition. She implores, but her orations are pure and unpretentious, humble and heart-felt.

This is best exemplified in ‘In His Presence,’ where she prods us to be strong and optimistic. “..don’t be discouraged, hope in God! Just sing songs of praise and worship and make your heart gold.” Here, God abruptly interjects, “I am strong, I am powerful, there’s naught I can’t do…Kneel before Me and My presence feel, your burdens I’ll lift and your soul I will heal. Be humble, be silent, wait patiently here. The longer you listen the better you will hear…”

Sam impresses with the allegorical, ‘A Drive with Jesus,’ penning, “Surely it’s best for Christ in the back seat to rest. The seat where the most dignified on earth will customarily ride…soon the road got very rough, I could not see, there was so much dust…My Lord, how shall I ever find the way? And that’s when I heard Jesus say: ‘Perhaps my child you may now feel it’s best if you give ME the wheel, I’ll drive you there, it’s no big deal.’

In ‘I Love You,’ she addresses the near ineffability of love, methodically describing its varied attributes that are sometimes self-serving, even whimsical. But God’s love, she is certain, is immutable, enduring, pure and ever forgiving. She channels God’s very words, “I love you my child. I’ve love you since you were small, tender and mild. Please know that I’ll love you each day of your life when you’re living peacefully, even in strife…”

Sam later revisits her childhood, using her experience as a yardstick to measure right from wrong in ‘The Good Life.’ “Work hard in school, obey the rules,” she admonishes, but also invites today’s youth to enjoy each day and “build healthy friendships too.”

In ‘Babe at Rest,’ she soars, her words ooze with pure emotion as she relates the bond between mother and child. “Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, such love I feel, such peace surreal while yours with mine; our souls they mesh.”
Sam proudly wears her Christian faith on her sleeves.

She evangelises, unremittingly. And her invocations to salvage sinners, bind oppressive spirits that bedevil men; bless nations and their leaders; sanctify the home; and quicken prosperity, are equally moving.

Prayer is the catalyst for change, for the salvation of wandering souls and boundless peace, according to Sam.  She fittingly intones, “Please fill our hearts with Your love and cause us to live as one, as You and the Father are one. Let us manifest Your glory in the earth, so that others can see the beauty of Jesus in our lives. Lord, come and establish Your Kingdom in the earth, and let Jesus Christ be Lord of His church, now and forever more. Amen.”

Yes, Sam subconsciously veers into the mystical. And she serves notice. Later, we learn that this fine poet has forayed into the speaking arena, inspiring and galvanising us toward self-realisation.
If her oratory flows with the same authenticity, we would have surely witnessed a feat of rare inspirational magic.

 

Feedback: [email protected] or follow him on Twitter@glenvilleashby

Divinely Empowered: Poems and Prayers for Inspiration by Sophia Sam 2012

ISBN: 978-1-4691-9567-4

Availability for speaking engagements: [email protected]

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