THE SHORE BREEZE MCMLXXI

A YOUTH IN AN ABBEY IN 1971 HAUNTED BY A WOMAN

And the silence
of the abbey church
overwhelmed me
and that solitary monk
sitting in the choir stalls
alone in semi-dark praying,

Dei silentium coram Deo,

that time in the latrines
in the abbey
late evening
looking out a window
towards the harbour
with lights of ships
and houses and cafes
and me there solitary
looking homewards,

luminaria in mundo,

and Hugh talking about
someone walking past
his door noisily
in morning time
thinking it me
but I went
another way
and told him,

nella preghiera
tocchiamo Dio
the Italian monk
said to me
as we stood
in the cloister
before Vespers,

Dom Leo by the bell ropes
in the cloister
outside the refectory
saying farewell
then off to Rome
and shook hands,

and that French monk said
jamais perdu dans
l'amour de Dieu
and he was tall
and seemed in another world,

I felt the rough brickwork
as I walked past
the statue of the Madonna
my fingers sensed it
at the tips,

she had undressed
and said have me
before my husband comes
so I did,

możesz mieć mnie tutaj
that Polish girl said
sex she meant
but it was an old guy's
bedroom so I declined,

be ready to do battle
under the biddings
of holy obedience
Benedict said
(the saint),

a philosopher
who takes no part
in discussions
is like a boxer
who never goes
into the ring
said Gareth
quoting Wittgenstein,

in silentio et lumen
Dom Joe(dear Bunny) said
God is found
and we walked down
the path from
the shore to the cloister
beneath trees
and that silent
from the shore breeze.