According to Tradition, the sixth century Irish monk St Brendan was known for going on long voyages on the Western Ocean, where he and his monks in their little coracle encountered new lands and many wonders, all the while faithfully praying the Psalms and Liturgy.
The Otters’ Song
Where shore meets wave,
where fish and kelp
bait hungry men,
there the Otters play,
our ancient souls
reveal the ocean’s secrets.
“St. Brendan sailed the deep green sea,
They say none sailed so far as he.
Somehow he kept his brothers sane,
Through storms of wind and sleet and rain.”
“St. Brendan fasted, worked and prayed,
He sang the blesséd Psalms so well.
He rode the waves on monstrous beasts,
defied the very gates of hell.”
“We know his sanctity was real,
His heart a stranger to all guile.
For when he watched the Otters dance,
The Holy Spirit made him smile.”
We are the Otters.
Much has changed,
but we remember.
Festina Lente 
I love the song of the otters! Are their verses a memory of the sea chanties sung by Brendan’s monk/sailors? Or do the human sea chanties reflect the whispers of otter songs heard by the monks in the loneliness of the sea?
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thank you!! It is ambiguous, but perhaps a wee bit of both?
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This is beautiful!
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Thank you!! Glad you like it!
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A lovely poem, and playful.
Do you know Matthew Arnold’s poem, “Saint Brendan sails the northern main/ The brotherhood of saints are glad/ He greets them once and sails again./So late, such storms, the saint is mad…” (First stanza)
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