A Cry for Mercy: Escape from the Unseen Dungeons by Peter Okonkwo is written from the perspective of a narrator struggling under spiritual bondage. The desperate cries to God touch on emotional and spiritual experiences with failure, loss, and despair. It reminds me of Job as he underwent trials that stripped him of family, wealth, and health. It raises the question of whether it is possible for man to grow to love God for himself and find fundamental contentment in life regardless of circumstances as the narrator questions his fate and grapples with sin in his life. He feels forgotten, speaks of his hopelessness, and calls to the Creator to come and give him something.
“Is it not in your hands?
The key to my fortune, and fate?
How long shall you keep me
In the dungeon of despair?
I need a change I am fed up
With my present status.”
This poetic journey follows the narrator's wrestling with guilt as he sheds many tears “in the dungeons” of bondage as he seeks forgiveness. Amid his struggles, he seeks to blame something else for his plight. His flesh, obstacles in his way, the spiritual forces of darkness, and more as he wonders about his fortune, fate, and destiny. He questions whether he has mistakenly offended fortune and begs the Creator to plead with his fate to grant him comfort from his sorrows. But he feels forgotten and questions why the Creator is silent about all his trouble.
Book Review: A Cry for Mercy
The poetry within the pages of A Cry for Mercy: Escape from the Unseen Dungeons by Peter Okonkwo echoes with cries for help from a dark place. It reflects human suffering and the journey to transcend it. It pulsates with moral energy, anger, spiritual insights, and distressed reflections. The cries for mercy are heart-wrenching and well-written as the narrator seeks divine intervention. As book 1 in this series, it paints a picture of the start of his spiritual journey. It draws the reader in with words that reflect exhaustion, tears, and a dearth of hope. The struggle is real and leads to the question many ask. What is my purpose on earth? I recommend this book to people who enjoy meditative lyric poetry lamenting the broader theme of the struggles of life, lack of reward for hard work, and the obstacles of life that prevent the good fortune they believe is promised them.
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About the Author Peter Okonkwo
Peter Okonkwo is a Nigerian writer, fatalist, publisher, editor, literary critic, spiritual philosopher, soon–to–be–novelist of Etean’s Destiny, and a certified orator from the Friendship Leadership Institute of Nigeria.
He is the author of six poetry collections: Ecstasy of the Dead; Fate, In the Dungeon of Doom; Whose Fault, Kismet or Impediment? and Escape from the Unseen Dungeons book series, (A Cry for Mercy, How the Demons Leave, and I Saw the Light)
Peter is gifted with the aptitude to explore and demystify certain difficult life issues through his thought–provoking, raw–arresting transcendent poetry. His works has been featured in notable literary magazines and newspaper, including the Australian Plumwood Mountain Journal, The Lagos Review, Ngiga Review, Hope Newspaper, among many others.
Peter is the host of the P. English Literature YouTube channel, where he reviews books and conducts interviews with authors around the world. His show has featured over 250 literature works from authors across the globe