Prayer to a Departed Friend - John Hanna Poem

On this Father's Day, I thought it important to remember fathers who have lost a child or children. Here is a poem written by John Hanna after the death of his son.*

Blessed Be
Joel

         Prayer to a Departed Friend

O Captain, in those islands of the blest
     To which you have so lately sailed away,
Somewhere is wandering a little boy -
     Perhaps you'll find him seated by the shore,
With sad eyes gazing o'er that unknown sea,
     Perplexed that Daddy's boat does not appear.

He is my dear-loved son, who left this world
     But a few short, yet age-long months ago;
In that far land are none he knows, and I
     Am torn with thoughts of his great loneliness.
Now as you love me, Captain, seek him out,
     And give him greeting as a friend of mine.

Sit down and spin for him brave yarns
     Of ships and men and storms, and fights and loot,
Of many a land and sea your life had known.
     Then walk with him sometimes along the beach
And answer well his eager questioning
     Of bird and fish and flower, all living things.

Perchance you'll find a boat upon that strand -
     Push off with him and teach him all the lore
Of tiller, oar and sail, of wind and wave;
     He knows no fear, and joys in brave effort -
Oh, how I envy you that happy task!
     To know that you are doing this, old friend,
Will keep me keep my teeth clenched tight, eyes dry,
     And mask with smiles the pain that grips my heart.

So seek my little lad, and tell him aye
     That I will come in but a few brief years,
And am eager for the day as he.
     I ask you this for old times' sake. Amen.

~ John G. Hanna

(written shortly after the death of his son, and addressed to his own father)

* Found in John Stephen Doherty's A Ketch Called Tahiti: John G. Hanna and His Yacht Designs (International Marine Publishing Comp, 1987).

Praying with the Canticle of Creation

Continuing with last weeks theme, if we are the creatures who pray, what do we pray? With whom do we pray? Are not our lives prayers? Yet, we long for the rituals that remind us that all is prayer, while at the same time, inviting us to pray alongside a larger community.

In that light, here is another prayer by Rev. Edward Hayes ...

Blessed Be

Joel

Canticle of Creation

In the beginning, Lord God,
     You alone existed: eternally one
     yet pregnant in the fullness of unity.
Full to overflowing,
     You, Father of All Life, exploded outward
     in billion bits and pieces.
Your Words became flesh,
     whirling in shining stars, shimmering suns
     and in genesis glimmering galaxies.
You, my God, spoke,
     and Your Words became flesh:
     in sun and moon, earth and seas,
     mountains and gentle hills,
     rolling rivers and silent streams.
You, my God, spoke,
     and Your Words became flesh:
     in winged bird, in deer and elephant,
     in grazing cow, racing horse and fish of the deep.
Your Words, so unique and so varied,
     filled the earth also with rabbit, squirrel and ant.
And all Your Words were beautiful,
     and all were good.

From each of these holy Words
     arose a prayer of praise and adoration
     to You, their creator
     and wondrous womb.
"Praise You," rang out the redwood,
     "Blessed be You," chimed in the cedar,
     "Holy are You," prayed the prairie grasses.
From all four corners of this earth,
     rose up a chorus of perpetual adoration.

O Sacred Spirit, O Divine Breath of Life,
     unseal my ears that they may ever listen
     to Your continuous canticle of creation;
     open my heart and my whole self,
     to sing in harmony with all its many voices.
Teach me to commune with Your first Word made flesh,
     Your Creation,
     that I may be able to unravel the wondrous words
     of Your second Word made flesh,
     Jesus,
     through whom, with whom and in whom,
     I may see myself as another Word of Yours made flesh,
     to Your glory and honor.
Amen.+

_____
+ Edward Hayes. Prayers for the Domestic Church. Forest Peace Books, 1979. p. 153.

The Creatures Who Pray

As we continue with the spring weather (rain here), we notice certain creatures returning once again.

Summer often means hearing the squawks of the Turns. Then there is the sea lion who returns each year. But what about us? We creatures who used to be of the trees, but now upon the water, where would we be classified?

Robert Jenson suggests that we humans are those who are called to pray. Listen to how Stanley Hauerwas writes about Jenson's idea:

Jensen, I think, quite rightly refuses to locate human significance in any one attribute that allegedly distinguishes us from other animals. Rather he maintains that our "specificity" in comparison with the other animals is that we are the ones addressed by God's moral word and so enabled to respond - that we are called to pray. If we will, the odd creatures of the sixth day can be classified: we are the praying animals.* 

___
*Stanley Hauerwas. A Better Hope. Brazos Press. 2000. quoting Robert Jenson. Systematic Theology. 1997. 2. 58-59.