Suzi Lyon

Prayer Swag

Once my friend and I were nearly run over when we  had rolled out our swag in the dark to sleep for the night. We were miles from anywhere in an immense flat desert landscape. At first light a strange  pervasive sound entered into our half sleep, it grew and grew in intensity and kept growing until finally it was a massive terrifying roar and a road train thundered past us metres from our heads,  the after shock of its passing flattening us and everything in its path.  The sound receded emptying out once more into a stillness punctuated only by the early morning calls of birds. We had camped almost on the road.

The swag is an Australian symbol of the outback, of sleeping under the stars , being free and on the move, having a bed wherever you choose to lay your head, being at one with the land, its creatures, seasons,  weather.  Add also prickles, flies, mosquitoes, blistering heat, bone shattering cold, and dust into everything.  But nothing beats waking in the night, the fire has died down to a bare glow, nothing moves. The moon has long set, the great sweeping jewelled expanse of the milky way arcs above and a meteorite shoots from outer space into yours, meeing for a moment and disappears. You can almost hear the cosmic roar.

This is a prayer for all who sleep out, on the streets or on the land.

Links to further information about Suzi

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