The Prayers for Land
Lost in the tempest
Out in open sea
Our small boat drifts
We seek for land
During endless day and endless night
We are the foam
Floating on the vast ocean
We are the dust
Wandering in endless space
Our cries are lost in the hollow wind
Without food, without water
Our children lie exhausted
Until they cry no more
We thirst for land
But are turned back from every shore
Our distress signals rise and rise again
But the passing ships do not stop
How many boats have perished
How many families lie beneath the wave?
Lord Jesus!
Do you hear the prayer of our blessed?
Lord Buddha!
Do you hear our voice?
From the Erebus of death
Oh! Shoreless shore
We long for you
We pray for mankind to be present today
We pray for land to stretch its arms to us
We pray that hope be given us
Today from any land./.
From an unknown Vietnamese