GOD IN US MCMLXXI

A YOUTH IN AN ABBEY HAUNTED BY A WOMAN IN 1971

Dei in nobis,

5am bell from cloister
woke from slumbers
to dim light
of dawn's kiss,

Dom James said
he missed his cigarettes
and would roll up
a leaf and pretend
to no real end,  

the cloister garth
haunting in 5.30am light
as I walked
by the low wall
seeing the dark green
and first birdsong,

she slid my finger
upon her valley of Eve
and said this
could be yours
if you wish
and I wished,

for at all times
we must so serve Him
with the good things
He has given us
that he may not
Benedict said,

the peasant French monk
pondered the tall grass
needing the cut
from his scythe  
and spat on his palms
and rubbed together,

senza Dio non
siamo nulla
the Italian monk said
lighting the candles
in the church before Mass,

I watched the dawn light
above the bell tower
like an angel
spreading bright wings,

take me from the rear
she said enter me
with passion before
my husband's return,

Dom Joe(dear Bunny) spoke
of God's mercy
in his soft tones
his rubbery lips
projecting the words
with a gentle finality,

Gottes Liebe
ist unermesslich
the Austrian monk said
as he helped me
pick apples
from the abbey orchard
before the office
of None,

good people
need not laws
to inform them
to act responsibly
while bad people
seek a way around
the laws Gareth said
quoting Plato
as we sat on the beach
by the abbey grounds
after lunch,

I closed the large
Latin breviary
with a slow slam
and dust erupted
in the air,

dawn's bright light
over the cloister wall,

bells tolled
from the abbey
pulled by George and me
echoing outward
like ripples
from the stone cast
into the nearby sea.