“If I were called in
To construct a religion
I should make use of water.
Going to church
Would entail a fording
To dry, different clothes ;
My liturgy would employ
Images of sousing,
A furious devout drench,
And I should raise in the east
A glass of water
Where any-angled light
Would congregate endlessly. “
Chris Murray 
3 responses to “‘Water’ by Philip Larkin.”
To finish the comment of last evening :
The book ‘Serious Sounds’ by John Moriarty is based in , or gathered round the theme of death and religion. It is an intimate book, wherein Moriarty draws together his influences (and philosophical reading) through world religions and around the structure of Larkin’s ‘Church going’ (not in this case, the poem ‘ Water ‘).
The book is probably available Via Amazon, or some such online concern; but it can also be found in most literary sections of good Irish Bookshops : ‘Serious Sounds’, John Moriarty . Slí na Firinne 2006.
“here endeth the lesson, pass the plate please”
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adequate for a religion subject, most especially in ireland, which is predominantly catholic population.
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aye, we are pretty sodden alright !
I do recommend John Moriarty who wrote on many religions, especially on the old beliefs. There is a post somewhere on the bloggie entitled ‘The Island of The Fand’ which details a beauteous piece of music by Sir Arnold Bax – also the central preoccupation here is with the old religions.
It kind of reminds me of some poems by Padraic Colum (monuments) and the art of Harry Clarke.
I mentioned two texts by Moriarty : ‘The Dreamtime’ and ‘Serious Sounds’ , to me they are worth the investment because they provide a creative link to what exists beneath the cultural dominance of religion here, which has had its victims.
(a brief note on Sir Arnold Bax, the man who collects his music is quite elderly and knew him quite well, his memories of Bax are not so acute now BUT his memory of playing the music is very sharp!)
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