KISSED HIS FEET 1971

A YOUTH IN AN ABBEY IN 1971 HAUNTED BY A WOMAN HE ONCE LOVED.

I woke to the morning bell
like one electrified
like a switched on bulb,

quod esset lux copiosa,

a buzzing in my head
as if bees were awoke there
and I woke with them,

Dom Andrew he of large beard
and tonsured head said
it was the way
the room were laid
as drew me
to the abbey
and he died of cancer
years later,

suck these she said
suck for all you're worth
and I did as a greedy child,

bóg jest w twoim sercu
the Polish monk said
by the abbey gardens
as I pulled weeds,

Hugh sour faced
polished the choir stalls
until his face shone
like a blushing bride,

breathe in this air
Dom Joseph said
God's breath is here
amongst us as we talk
and we sat
on the beach in conflab,

enter your ship here
she said into
my tight harbour
and she laughed
and I did too,

the world's thy ship
and not thy home
Therese said,

the smell of incense
as I entered church
lifted me up
from dark doldrums
at dawn's light,

être en paix avec Dieu
the French monk said
as I aided him in the task
of mowing lawns
and side paths,

George my fellow novice
laughed at the size
of the napkins
around our neck
and in our laps
like bedsheets he said,

we can easily forgive a child
who is afraid of the dark
the real tragedy of life
is when men are afraid
of the light
Gareth said
quoting Plato,

death and dark
are similar
to the child in man,

locutusque est Dominus
ad me in lucem,

was as if I were deaf or blind
and God knew and blessed,

ship into harbour
with ease and joy
and pubes were a forest
to wade through to joy's gate,

the bells ceased tolling
and the echo evaporated
like drying water
in the sun's heat,

and would have washed
His head and if humble enough
have kissed His feet.