I seem to be fascinated by prayer these days. Well I believe that’s all we have to fight the injustices of this world which seem to multiply before our eyes at the speed of light.
Prayer that pause in the day’s complications that connects us to an uncomplicated world – a reflection perhaps of an easier time, with simpler routines and comfortable repetition.
I play the piano. I started lessons again after almost 70 years. I play classical music. It’s not sacred though I would like to play a mass. When I’m frustrated with my progress I play scales. A major with three sharps is a favourite. This is grade 5 conservatory and it transports. It isn’t a prayer but it is an escape.
I was somewhat confused by the last line of the poem. I knew Malin and Finisterre. I had to research the other two. The reference is to another predictable time slot – the shipping news.
My sister-in-law who lives in Edinburgh listens to the shipping news. She knew Malin Head in Donegal where Christopher Somerville started his walk down the West coast of Ireland to write The Road to Roaring Water.
I knew of Finisterre from my Caminos in northern Spain. The other two places are coastal as well. I believe that sailors must pray.
I’m sure they pray in Newfoundland where the novel, The Shipping News, by Ann Proulx is set.
Then again some quiet Latin chant could drown out the unwanted news. I like litanies where I can answer “Ora pro nobis.”