LIKE APURE SEA MCMLXVIII

A YOUTH IN AN ABBEY WITH MONKS IN 1968

Tall bell tower
caught in moonlight
Moorish design
I stood and looked
as bell tolled for Compline,

campana suon�™
per compieta
smell of incense
as I entered the church
with only altar red light
and Dom Peter crossed
from cloister to bell tower,

sans Dieu nous
ne sommes rien
the French monk said
as he came to the guest room
to talk of the monastic life
to me I sat in the armchair
he on another chair
in his black robes
hands folded together,

manos juntas
skin on skin
prayer mode
knees aching
with kneeling,

we are nothing without God
Dom Charles said to me
as we picked apples
from the orchard
after lunch
in warm sunshine
a turn of the hand to pluck,

die Menschheit ohne
Gott verloren sind
the Austrian monk told me
before supper walking
from the cloister together,

stars in the evening sky
the moon bright
as a polished coin
chill in the air
standing waiting
for Compline to begin,

agnus Dei
that time in Mass
sensing the host
on my tongue dissolving
segno esteriore
di grazia interiore
Bruno said each
outward sign of inner grace
the sacraments
sacramenti,

monks chanted
the night office
and I stood and let it
flow over me
like a pure sea.