Bearla: Meehan - Prayer for the Children of Longing

Great tree from the far northern forest

Apostrophe, Meehan is appealing to nature rather than God in this prayer

Grant us the clarity of ice

Peaceful tone and metaphor

The scream, the siren, the knock on the door

Describing the grief felt by those who lost loved ones to drug use, indicating a grim, realistic tone.

The needle in its track, the knife in the back

Onomatopoeia/cacophony

That spellbound them in alleyways

Sympathetic/empathetic tones, slight elements of the supernatural mentioned.

That promised them everything, that delivered nothing

Anger, frustration at the cycle of drug abuse influenced by the area, personification and metonymy of the streets.

The streets that we brought them home to

Guilt: this home only damaged them, but it was home.

Let their names be the wind

Comforting, reassuring

Let their names be the holiest prayers

Spirituality in nature, anaphora with the two lines previous.

Here at the heart of the city

Heart symbolises community.