The Cape Henry Primordial Groan
By Fr. Nigel Mumford+
I was sitting in my decliner
Drinking my tea
I looked at the dog...
Duncan looked at me.
We have not gone for a
Walk for a week or more
The wind and rain came from the shore.
I nodded at the dog and he knew
It was time for a walk,
In the fog...
From the shore.
Hat on my head
Leash on the dog
Windbreaker on
We headed out into the dull gloom.
Then the one instrument
Orchestra struck its lonely note
The haunting melody known...
The Cape Henry fog horn, noise from its throat.
I stoped to enjoy this Beethoven moment
The deep haunting resonance resounding
In the center of my head, the call to the lighthouse
The call of the ancient Mariner to beware.
The tune set to one note, no rhythm present
A deep, deep sound resounding in the throat.
The warning of rocks and the sea shore
The warning to be heeded by the mariners afloat.
My walk was cold, the wind was raw
My feet upon the sea shore
I let my mind wander as I walked the dog
As men would have grappled with the ships lines and more.
I was safe, the fog horn a reminder
Of days gone by and the souls behind her
The ship to change course away from the sound
Not be be drawn, flailing upon the rocks found.
My walk was filled as my mind wandered
The ancient mariners lives, perhaps squandered.
My walk back home to a hot cup of tea
The ancient mariners story alive but recorded
By the warning sound once more
Of the sound of the horn from the shore.
The Cape Henry sound, the monotone warning
The haunting memory of forewarning.
One long blast and then silence...no reply.
A primordial groan from the earliest of time
A noise to prevent the ship from floundering.
A welcome warning from days gone by.
To those mariners gone before us,
I raise my mug from the safety of the shore
The Cape Henry horn playing its lonely tune
It could be so easy to become immune to
The primordial groan of that ancient fog horn.
--
Healing Grace and Peace be with you, Fr. Nigel+