I hear the ocean calling, by Yvonne Aburrow
Behold we arise with the dawn of time from the grey and misty sea, and with the dusk we sink in the western ocean, and the lives of a man are strung like pearls on the thread of his spirit; and never in all his journey goes he alone, for that which is solitary is barren.
Dion Fortune, The Sea Priestess
I hear the ocean calling
It speaks to me in dreams
I see it gleaming silver
Beneath the pale moonbeams
And the Mighty Dead are singing
On the Islands of the Blest
The light within the darkness
Shines softly for the dead
They sail across the ocean
The ocean of our tears
And beyond the gates of Middle-Earth
They feast with joy and mirth.
Beloved Dead we greet you
Across the Great Divide
And when we make that journey
Across the sundering seas
We will meet you in the Summerlands
Beneath the apple trees.
And when the apple blossom
Springs from the dry grey branch
We'll be reborn together
To love again on Earth:
We will recognise each other
By the starlight in our eyes.
© Yvonne Aburrow
Samhain 2002
Tune: "O Jesus I have promised". There are two tunes for this song - a horrible dirgy one called Llanfyllin, Thornbury or Nyland (apparently a Finnish folk song) which seems to be the more common tune, and a lovely soaring one which is seldom used. So I figured, if the Christians don't want it, I would steal it. Here's a rather cheesy Hammond-organ-type rendition of it (the only one I could find on the web). We used to sing this hymn at school, and I really liked the tune, even if it is probably rather happy-clappy. To get the lovely soaring feeling, it either has to be sung very fast, or fairly slowly, slightly liltingly. This gives a nice Samhain feeling.