Bridgewater Hall
Again, the endless northern rain between us *tedium, exasperation
like a veil. Tonight, I know exactly where you are, *simile
which row, which seat. I stand at my back door.
The light pollution blindfolds every star.
I hold my hand out to the rain, simply to feel it, wet
and literal. It spills and tumbles in my palm,
a broken rosary. Devotion to you lets me see *religious diction
the concert hall, lit up, the other side of town,
then see you leave there, one of hundreds in the dark,
your black umbrella raised. If rain were words, could talk,
somehow, against your skin, I’d say look up, let it utter *Biblical
on your face. Now hear my love for you. Now walk. *anaphora
In “Bridgewater Hall”, the lover is attending a concert on the other side of town.
The opening word “Again” followed in quick succession by a reference to
separation sets a tone of dissatisfaction. It tells us that the relationship is not a
harmonious one as the sense of weariness at this vicious cycle that characterises
the relationship is conveyed.
The rain parts the lovers “like a veil”, the speaker’s hand is held and filled by drops
which spill “like a broken rosary”, connoting broken vows. To break a rosary is to
break something that is sacramental and this reflects the volatility of the
relationship which, it can be inferred, is regarded as something sacramental by the
speaker. This notion is reinforced by the word ”Devotion” which is often used to
denote religious devoutness. The love is therefore portrayed as being a form of
adulation and the semantic field of religion confers upon it the stature of devout
religious worship.
Again, the endless northern rain between us *tedium, exasperation
like a veil. Tonight, I know exactly where you are, *simile
which row, which seat. I stand at my back door.
The light pollution blindfolds every star.
I hold my hand out to the rain, simply to feel it, wet
and literal. It spills and tumbles in my palm,
a broken rosary. Devotion to you lets me see *religious diction
the concert hall, lit up, the other side of town,
then see you leave there, one of hundreds in the dark,
your black umbrella raised. If rain were words, could talk,
somehow, against your skin, I’d say look up, let it utter *Biblical
on your face. Now hear my love for you. Now walk. *anaphora
In “Bridgewater Hall”, the lover is attending a concert on the other side of town.
The opening word “Again” followed in quick succession by a reference to
separation sets a tone of dissatisfaction. It tells us that the relationship is not a
harmonious one as the sense of weariness at this vicious cycle that characterises
the relationship is conveyed.
The rain parts the lovers “like a veil”, the speaker’s hand is held and filled by drops
which spill “like a broken rosary”, connoting broken vows. To break a rosary is to
break something that is sacramental and this reflects the volatility of the
relationship which, it can be inferred, is regarded as something sacramental by the
speaker. This notion is reinforced by the word ”Devotion” which is often used to
denote religious devoutness. The love is therefore portrayed as being a form of
adulation and the semantic field of religion confers upon it the stature of devout
religious worship.
