Read A Woman Clothed in Words Online
Authors: Anne Szumigalski
Tags: #Fiction, #Non-fiction, #Abley, #Szumigalski, #Omnibus, #Governor General's Award, #Poetry, #Collection, #Drama
Psalm of Praise
Prairie Winds
for voices A and B (originally, Anne and Bob).
A
–
O prairie winds blow, blow,
B – Praising the name of God.
•
A – O blow, blow across the wide prairie
B – Praising the name of God.
•
A – O prairie grass grow, grow,
B – Grow in the name of God.
•
A – O prairie grass bend in the wind,
B – Praising the name of God.
•
A – O creeks and rivers flow, flow,
B – Flow in the name of God.
•
A – O praise! praise! prairie rain,
B – Falling in the name of God.
•
A – O prairie storm thunder, thunder
Thunder the praise of God.
•
B – O lightning, lightning blaze in the sky,
A – Flashing in the name of God.
B – Dust and clouds, water and wind,
Praising the name of God.
•
A – O prairie fire burn, burn,
Run across the wide prairie
•
B – Run, run, burn, burn,
Burn in the name of God.
•
A – O deer and fox,
Bear and hare,
Run from the smoke,
Run from the fire,
•
B – Run in the name of God.
•
A – Run to the water,
Run to the slough,
Running before the fire.
•
B – O winter snow
Quench the fire,
Quench in the name of God.
Litany
Job
12: 7–9 (adapted)
A – Go ask the cattle,
ask the birds of the air to teach you,
or tell the creatures that crawl to teach you,
and the fishes of the sea to give you instruction.
Who cannot learn from all these
that the Lord’s own hand has done this?
•
B – Who cannot learn from all these?
•
A – We praise you in the morning with the coyote
who rises early and disputes with the sun
who pounces upon the mouse and the snake
and carries her prey to her pups in the den,
just as you, O God, feed us with your holy word.
•
B – Just as you, O God, feed us with your holy word.
•
A – We praise you with the fox
who stands on the slope of the hill,
watching the prairie
to sniff out his prey.
Just as you, O God, sniff us out,
sight us while we are yet far off.
•
B – While we are yet far off.
•
A – We praise you O God with the gentle deer,
whose hooves are dainty on the grass
who nibbles all winter upon poplar twigs,
and in the spring drops her young in the bushes.
She flees before us as a tumbleweed from the wind,
just as we, O God, must flee before your anger.
•
B – Just as we, O God, must flee before your anger.
•
A – And with the owl let us praise God,
for like us she is blind to the sun.
But all night she flies calling in the darkness
As we, O God, cry to you.
•
B – As we, O God, cry to you.
•
A – And we praise you with the antelope
whose leap is like a spring of water,
who bounds over the barrier to the herd.
Just as you, O God, leap over the fence
of our ignorance, and come to dwell among us.
•
B – O God leap, leap over the fence of our ignorance,
and come to dwell among us.
Litany of Blessing
A – May terrors shink to harmless toys
With tyrants fenced like little boys.
Pinstriped suits and judges’ gowns
Only worn by circus clowns.
•
B – May justice and mercy kiss.
•
A – May boardrooms be pool halls
With pinstripes for cues
And bankers for balls.
Missiles not missed,
Generals kissed
Goodbye,
Presidents fired
And at last knowing why.
•
B – May justice and mercy kiss.
•
A – May the animal nations
Of eagle and bear
Lose feather and fur
Claw and tearing beak,
Learn shame,
Learn meekness again.
•
B – May justice and mercy kiss.
•
A – May war be a memory
And prisoners run free,
Preachers dancing,
Prophets playing,
Martyrs without call.
•
B – May justice and mercy kiss.
•
A – May babes brown and white
Milk-mouthed be happy
As calves tickled by thistles,
Licking honey from the sun,
Licking honey from the sun.
•
A & B – Justice and mercy shall kiss
Amen and Amen and Amen.
Litany of the Bagladies
(words for a dance piece)
BAGGY BAGLADY
SKINNY BAGLADY
BB
–
It’s the legs mostly. Legs tired all the time. You keep walking, walking, carrying your stuff. Dragging everything along with you. When you sleep you sleep sitting up. That’s the hardest thing on the legs. The hardest thing.
SB – I’ll be at the train station, sitting on a bench with a hand on each of my bags, and I’ll be thinking how did you get into this mess, Dolly? How did it come about?
BB – It’s the legs mostly …
SB – This is certainly not what I expected of myself. Not at all what I could have expected.
BB – These sores on me legs. I’ve had ’em a long time now. Six months, a year, two years mebbe. Every so often I take a busride down to the hospital, get ’em fixed up a bit.
Try to keep off your feet Mrs. Adams.
Snarky bitch.
SB – How did I get into this mess anyway?
BB – That’s a laugh isn’t it? (laughs bitterly) You just nicely gets snoozing on a bench and a cop moves you on. (laughs again) Moving on. Legs aching. Trying to find a place to sleep. Something to eat. A bathroom where you can wash up, change y’clothes. Comb y’hair a bit.
SB – I’m a mess. I should go down to McDonald’s or maybe out to the U of S. They have decent washrooms there. Always tidy and clean. I should get my hair done too. It’s a mess.
BB – Get something to eat. Mebbe I’ll ask for a doughnut, cuppa coffee. Sometimes they’ll give you something.
SB – You know I used to read a lot. Philosophy, social comment, politics. Yes I was very interested in politics … Now when I go to the library it’s because it’s warm in there. And the chairs are so comfortable, and padded. Like heaven after these hard benches. Mmm hmm Mmm hmm …
BB – Walking, walking, trying to get a bit of a snooze. Walking. Walking. Walking. (coughs)
CHANT
Saint Brenda defend us
Saint Brenda defend us
Jeanne d’Arc fight for us
Saint Emmeline Pankhurst struggle for us
Show forth our anger
•
Saint Brenda defend us
Saint Brenda defend us
Jeanne d’Arc fight for us
Saint Emmeline Pankhurst struggle for us
Show forth our anger
SPEAK
Holy saints alive
Be there when we arrive
Holy saints alive
•
Saint Barbara falling from your tower
Understand our despair our despair
We ask you Saint Clare
Show us your poverty
Enclose us keep us to ourselves
Holy saints listen to our mumbling
Listen to our prayer
Forgive us forgive us our sainthood
CHANT
We ask you Saint Clare
Enclose us keep us to ourselves
Holy saints listen to our mumblings
Listen to our prayers
Forgive us our sainthood
•
Catherine Labouré increase our vision
Saint Teresa give us holy insight
Give us holy love holy love
SPEAK
For we have abandoned our children
We have abandoned our parents
We have abandoned our mates
Holy saints forgive us our sainthood
CHANT
We have abandoned our children
We have abandoned our parents
We have abandoned our mates
Holy saints forgive us our sainthood
SPEAK
Sara patron of all nomads
Be with us be with us be with us
For we have relinquished the world
We are pilgrims
We are wanderers
W a n d e r e r s
Sara patron of all nomads
Pray for us
Pray for us homeless
Pray for us nameless
Always departing
Never arriving
CHANT
Pray for us always departing departing departing
Never arriving
Pray for us going on our way
From day to day
From nowhere to nowhere
Going on our way
Dame Julian of Norwich
Enlighten us
Saint Ursula teach us
Saint Eleanor Roosevelt
Show forth our patience
Show forth our dignity
SPEAK
Saint Judy Chicago
Show us our possibilities
Holy ones forgive us
Forgive us our sainthood
RHYTHMIC SPEECH
Woman woman
Eccentric woman
Feral woman
F e r a l woman
Woman
•
Decrepit woman
Decrepit woman
Decrepit woman
Without home
Without house
Without cage
Without fortress
Without bars
•
Woman eccentric feral decrepit
Without home
Without cage
Without fortress
Without bars
•
Do what you will
Not caring
Not crying
Not wailing
Do what you will
•
Trudging trudging
No bar no burden
She bears herself
Alone she travels
From nowhere to nowhere
Alone alone alone
•
Woman woman
Eccentric woman
Feral decrepit
Without home
Without house
Trudging trudging
No bar no burden
She bears herself
Alone she travels
From nowhere to nowhere
Alone alone alone
GENTLER VOICE
The foxes have holes
The birds have nests
The saint has nowhere to lay her head
Nowhere to rest
Pilgrim she wanders
From street
To street
In a fusty skirt