PM- Prayer for the Children of Longing (Quotes)

“Grant us the clarity of ice the comfort of snow the cool memory of trees”

(Prayer for the Children of Longing)

• The images of ‘calm’, ‘comfort’ and ‘cool memory’ give the impression that nature would provide peace.

• The request for serenity is encapsulated in this line eloquently and nature is used to augment it.

“The scream the siren the knock on the door the needle in its track the knife in the back”

(Prayer for the Children of Longing)

• The reason for the desperate request for peace is exposed brutally.

• The enjambment used in the line alongside repetition of ‘the’ offers as a sharp contrast to the previous stanza.

• Alliteration of ‘th’ and ‘ck’ make the scene more jarring for the reader.

“The streets that defeated them that thought them to their knees”

(Prayer for the Children of Longing)

• The street’s cruel nature is displayed in this stanza.

• The use of ‘them’ makes the scene even more jarring as Meehan frames herself as a ‘survivor’.

• Also shows the tragic vulnerability of the people allowing us to see them as the victims.

“The streets that gave them visions and dreams that promised them everything that delivered nothing”

(Prayer for the Children of Longing)

• The streets are personified and antagonised further.

• The direct contrast between how the streets were meant to be a place to grow yet were a place to be destroyed.

• Alliteration of ‘th’ in ‘the’ and ‘that’ speeds up the stanza, making the scene more shocking.

“Let their names be the song of the river let their names be the holiest prayers”

(Prayer for the Children of Longing)

• Repetition of ‘let’ gives the stanza a prayer-like theme yet again.

• Speaker is determined to keep the memory of these children alive.

• Nature is connoted with memory and reflection as it’s asked to be an avenue to remember these kids from.