NAKED INSIDE MY HEAD 1971

A YOUTH IN AN ABBEY IN 1971 HAUNTED BY A WOMAN

Sine Deo nihil sumus,

the bell tolled
for the office of Lauds
it echoed the cloisters,

rain dampened the garth
and lower wall,

I stood and smelt the rain
as it fell the freshness,

slipper my behind in our foreplay
games she said so I did,

incense from yesterday's Mass
still lingered as we entered church,

difficile per pregare,

fingers finding the stoup's water
and crossing from shoulder to shoulder,

this Sacrament really contains You
O my God You whom the Angels
adore in whose presence the Spirits
and mighty Powers tremble
Angela of Foligno said,

I watched the old monk
fumble with turning pages
of his battered breviary,

Gareth smoothed out the page
with his pinkie hand and focused
his eyes on words there,

I loved her red rose
and lipped it's damp,

I believe that You O Jesus
are in the most holy Sacrament
Francis said,

my stomach hungered and rumbled
as I chanted low,

prière intérieure is hardest
the French monk said,

Hugh pointed the lines in the book
that I may see or know
if got lost and saw his chewed
nail along the page,

without God we are nothing
Dom Joseph said,

the cloister clock chimed
a quarter God's voice calling,

morning light peeped
through high windows
outside the world went on
inside we prayed,

I kissed each buttock in turn
and she smiled,

buscar a Dios Dom Francis said
and I tried to seek,

as nothing I am nothing
but with God all things are
Dom Peter said,

the chanting ceased
a bell rang and we left hungered
for food and drink,

rain still dampened
the wall and grass,

the church tower like
a minaret pointing skyward,

I entered the refectory
for black coffee and silence and bread,

she lay there naked
inside my head.