Road Prayer from Cenotaph Tapes by John Carroll

May you yield before a cross
May your wagon see the sign
Sticking in the mud
Protect you when it’s high.
When the sun is in your eyes
A cloud will give you sight
Many men are blind
But they say it’s just at night

When the ground beneath our feet
Is faster than the wind
Let the rider take you far
And bless the hands you greet.
If hooves should touch the tar
Against you on the road
Be rescued by Saint Christopher
Our patron traveller

And if night should fall upon you
When shadows crawl and stare
Let the headlights penetrate them
Like the wielded sword of prayer.
There’s a million birds and briars
To send you on your way
The carcasses of a calling crow
A path where not to stray.

As the engine croaks and whistles
It’s crude old heart of oil
The beating valves and rusted chains
Lament the Shannon soil.
All the frequencies between us
All the wires, crests and waves
The homeward call of family
That drives you out again.

On a joyride going north
Where the drunken trees agree
The music should be louder here
But your shotgun’s fast asleep.
And you’ll know the daylight’s closer
When the vampires shield their eyes
If they snatch you from the shelter
A chariot will rise

If you’re burnt out in the ditches
Where the homeless piss and cum
Don't blame it on the passenger
Til you tell him what you've done.
Send a prayer to the road
Jack your gypsy deals
Let it be the envoy
For love upon your wheels.

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