vv 19-21 But Lord, you remain the same forever! Your throne continues from generation to generation. Why do you continue to forget us?
Why have you abandoned us for so long? Restore us, O Lord, and bring us back to you again! Give us back the joys we once had!
Oh for the good old days, when there was food and to spare! The nation had a long wait until this cry was satisfied. There were years of loss and exile ahead. It was going to take priests and prophets, builders and kings, to get the nation back on its feet. People were once again going to have to pay heed to what God said (Ezra worked on that. Nehemiah 8), and city walls had to be rebuilt. (Nehemiah worked on that. Nehemiah 3). Temple worship had to be restored. (The prophets Haggai and Zechariah encouraged that.)
The relationship with God had to be restored through trusting God in obedience and holy living. The exile the people experienced and from which they returned was every bit as significant as the Exodus from Egypt and the entry to the Promised Land under Moses.
The Book of Lamentations remains with us as a reminder of what happens when people turn away from God, to trust the illusion of human resources.