Solitary Woman

Time just flies - and suddenly you look up and realise you're married to yourself.  

It's fun in the follies of youth, the freedom is liberating. Years pass unnoticed.

Now self-actualised, retired, in the autumn of your life, perhaps late autumn, you find yourself not only alone, but having difficulty meeting-up with a friend or two. Not even before lockdown from Covid-19. Most of the time, you hardly hear from anyone unless you keep in touch first. Why? Not their fault. Friends are busy with their own families, with their jobs (some opt to hang on to jobs beyond retirement age from lack of financial instability). Even so, loved ones and good friends gone one by one - either separated by physical distance, divorce, or death. You find yourself alone, none available over a cuppa for that needed unwinding. 

One day, you feel unwell, you writhe in pain in the middle of the night - you don't know who to call for help. The same scene happens few times. Now that is pitting you against the wall. You've gone too far of your singledom. 

You've been single a long time, solitary woman. 

All your adultlife, you love the independence, the freedom not to worry about stifling relationships, focus on career, your identity intact. One day, you realise you've become "too single". You socialise, join interest groups, hoping to find someone with common interests, not necessarily in mind to start any serious relationship but for good friendships. It's never the same. 

At this point in time, the autumn of your life, most people you meet have their own established social groups, close-knit family circles. You join them for awhile, few weeks, few months. Inevitably, you yearn for the old freedoms. You either feel out of place -  circles with partners, with children, or hordes of relatives in tow. Topics of discussion not really your interest.  You realise you're better off alone, despite your desperation not to be alone.    

The time has come. It's getting late in the autumn of your life. Time to stop wearing blinders, to consider other possibilities. But what? Only time will tell.   

Listening pleasure: 

"Solitary Woman", composed by Ralph Towner, played by Francois Drouin.  YouTube, Accessed July 11, 2021.     

(c) July 2021. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.

Dante's Prayer

        Listening Pleasure

Video: 

Loreena McKennitt Dante's Prayer with lyrics.  YouTube, uploaded by HaveFaithNH. Accessed July 1, 2021.  This is a very popular song entitled "Dante's Prayer" written by Canadian born Loreena McKennitt.  

 

On Reflection... What the song means. 

I'm featuring this song as it personally speaks to me, enriches. Music or a song has a personal meaning for everyone.  I found a wonderful insight from my collected notes. I can't properly credit his/her name as it was only signed as 'roblel'. Thank you Roblel. 

Roblel, as I will address him (or her), was fortunate to see Loreena McKennitt in concert at Massey Hall in Toronto in the late 90's; that prior singing her songs, she would often relate to the listening audience what inspired her to write it. As best as I can recall, this, according to Roblel, was how Loreena's "Dante's Prayer" song came about. 

Loreena travels the world extensively to find inspiration for her music whereby she exposes herself to different cultures. On the occasion of her inspiration for "Dante's Prayer", she was riding on a trans - Siberian train and indeed reading Dante Alighieri's famous The Divine Comedy. She recounted that since there was no dining car on the train, it would stop at various towns along the way and the riders were given exactly 20 minutes to leave the train and buy food from the locals who lived in the town and would come to the train to greet and sell to the passengers. 

This would have happened perhaps once or twice throughout the day.

There was an attendant on the train, a woman, who would come around and seem grumpy and rather miserable. At first, Loreena dismissed her demeanor as one of culture. 

One time, after Loreena had re-boarded the train having bought food from the locals, the same attendant came by. Loreena stopped her and gave her some of the food she had bought, as a simple act of kindness. The woman remarked with a surprised smile and a countenance that reminded Loreena about the story that she was reading in the Dante's Divine Comedy.

In that moment, Loreena found her muse for the song, thought she would never forget the look of gratitude on the attendant's face, almost certain no one else had taken the time to consider the woman as she travelled back and forth, day after day, and year after year, through the dark harshness of Siberia. 

From that one kind gesture, Loreena McKennitt's song was born: "Dante's Prayer". 

Lyrics

 

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.

 

Source: LyricFind

Dante’s Prayer lyrics © O/B/O Apra Amcos

 

 

(c) July 2021. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.