Excerpts from Prairie Mass
Editor’s note: Prairie Mass was performed three times in Anne’s lifetime, each time in Manitoba, with changes on each occasion. Only in the third performance, for instance, did a reading of her “Story of the Heartberry” (found later in this book) replace a telling of the Biblical story of Joseph and Mary.
The three excerpts published here found their place amid many other elements of an untraditional Christian service, from an opening medley of old Western songs and hymns to a brief play by Bob Haverluck, and from readings of work by other Canadian poets (F.R. Scott, John Newlove, Andrew Suknaski) to Cree stories and the Welsh hymn “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah.”
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
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.
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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.