Aquehonga Night Chant
for Staten Island

Island made of red clay
Island made of industrial dawn
Island made of serpentine rock
Island made of male sorrow
Island made of female mourning

In autumn may you walk
In autumn may you shuffle leaves
In autumn may you pray
In autumn in the time of Our Lady of Sorrows,
May you behold a sky, electric blue
In autumn may you not fear the sky, nor the planes,
nor the germs, nor the smoke

Island made of the finest blue
Island made of the bravest red
Island made of secretaries
Island made of bond traders
Island made of poets
Island made of sculptors

In autumn may you walk
At sunset may you walk the shore
At sunset may you ride waves of grief
May they not pull you out too far from shore
May the salt not sting your face

Island made of oyster shells
Island made of tall marsh grass
Island made of verdant hills

Island made of churches
Island made of piper’s songs
Island made of lamentation

In autumn may you walk
At midnight may you stroll beneath the sky
dimmer now.
May you not mind the helicopter’s startle
May you not see the army fatigues
May you walk in ignorance of these

Island made of leaden air
Island of the seven hills
May your land not be so blighted
May your feet lead you to the path of Moses Mountain.
May you see the harvest moon rise above your sorrow
May you believe you will see it rise again above your wistfulness
May you believe that you will see it rise again above your memory
May your memories be dear
May they not cut you or your wife or your husband or your child.
May they settle upon you like a blanket of fleece

Island made sweetgum trees
Island made of weeping willow
Island made of maple trees
Island made of oak

May your feet have courage to move
May your hands have courage to work
May your heart have courage to laugh
May your eyes have courage to blink

Island of the dappled shade
Island of the uniformed schoolgirls
Island of the truant schoolboys
Island of the ferry boat
Island of the bridge
Island of the Fort
Island of the empty helmet

May your tears salt the earth, the good island earth
May your tears water the earth, the good island earth
May life spring from them
May spring shoots thrust
from the hardened earth by virtue
of your tears
May your tears produce wild violets
May you see the face of god in them

In goodness shall you walk
With courage shall you walk
By virtue’s side shall you walk
In beauty it is finished
In light, dazzling and perpetual, it is finished
In love it is finished.