Loreena McKennitt

Dante's Prayer
Loreena McKennitt
when the dark wood fell before me.
And all the paths were overgrown.
When the priests of pride say there is no other way.
I tilled the sorrows of stone.
I did not believe because I could not see.
Though you came to me in the night.
When the dawn seemed forever lost.
You showed me your love in the light of the stars.
Cast your eyes on the ocean.
Cast your soul to the sea.
When the dark night seems endless.
Please, remember me.
Then the mountain rose before me.
By the deep well of desire.
From the fountain of forgiveness.
Beyond the ice and the fire.
Cast your eyes on the ocean.
Cast your soul to the sea.
When the dark night seems endless.
Please, remember me.
Though we share this humble path, alone.
How fragile is the heart.
Oh give these clay feet wings to fly.
To touch the face of the stars.
Breathe life into this feeble heart.
Lift this mortal veil of fear.
Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears.
We'll rise above these earthly cares.
Cast your eyes on the ocean.
Cast your soul to the sea.
When the dark night seems endless.
Please, remember me...
Please, remember me...

 

This glancing life is like a morning star
A setting sun, or rolling waves at sea
A gentle breeze or lightning in a storm
A dancing dream of all eternity
The sand was shimmering in the morning light
And dancing off the dunes so far away
The night held music so sweet, so long
And there we lay until the break of day
We woke that morning at the onward call
Our camels bridled up, our howdahs full
The sun was rising in the eastern sky
Just as we set out to the desert's cry
Calling, yearning, pulling, home to you
The tents grew smaller as we rode away
On earth that tells of many passing days
The months of peace and all the years of war
The lives of love and all the lives of fears
Calling, yearning, pulling, home to you
We crossed the river beds all etched in stone
And up the mighty mountains ever known
Beyond the valleys in the searing heat
Until we reached the caravanserai
Calling, yearning, pulling, home to you
Calling, yearning, pulling, home to you
What is this life that pulls me far away
What is that home where we cannot reside
What is that quest that pulls me onward
My heart is full when you are by my side
Calling, yearning, pulling, home to you

-- Loreena Mckennitt

 

You may like this #7 just above

 

more here, from a poem from the 16th century, sung:
The Dark Night of the Soul

 

Only the omniscient One really knows I think.