ALL MY DAYS MCMLXXI

A YOUTH IN AN ABBEY AND HAUNTED BY A WOMAN IN 1971

Introite portas eius
in gratiarum actione,

I entered the porter's lodge
and monks awaited me
three walked with me
up the drive
taking my bags,

bell tower against
a blue sky
bells tolled,

Hugh showed me my cell
and where to put my books,

sorrow can be alleviated
by good sleep a bath
and a glass of wine
said Thomas,

what can I get you?
she said unbuttoning
my flies with her
nimble fingers
and tongue to one side,

toccare la mano
di Dio the Italian monk said
as we placed books
in the shelves
of the library in the abbey,

Dom James talked
of the plainsong
and when we would need
to sing Latin by
and small lines of chant
and I tried,

parler à Dieu et
il répondra
the French monk said,

a dry desert of prayer
I told him,

she put her legs
about my waist
and I entered her
garden of Eve,

the French peasant monk
sythed the tall grass
like death sweeping
through a plagued city,

smell of incense
as I entered for mass,

choir stalls highly polished
smell of wax in the air,

yes my Beloved it is thus
that my life's brief day
shall be spent
before Thee
Therese said,

we walked the cloister
George and I
morning Terce hour over
and onto work tasks,

vertrauen auf Gott
und seine Liebe
the Austrian monk told me
as he sawed the wood
for log fires
and I held the end firm,

one can find out more
about a person in one hour
of play than in a year
of conversation
Gareth said quoting Plato
as we sat on the beach
in the abbey grounds,

amor Dei in veritate
Dom Joe(dear Bunny) said
trust to God and his love,

she milked me off
thoughts of her
drained my days
in all ways.