"videt" poems
Venne, Videt, Delent
They came, They saw, They destroy
They came, after days and nights of travel from different places
With them are vicious machineries, roaring to harvest the land
Nourished by the earth itself
They saw, with hungering and ambitious eyes
Over the fortune they can make out of the natural wealth
The land restlessly developed for years
They Destroy, with their machines
They senselessly cut down timber, dig out ore and hunt down animals
For no other reason other than their greedy and materialistic desires
Then they leave, going to another land and repeat the evil cycle; leaving the
former ruined and devastated
Jul 27, 2014
Jul 27, 2014 at 12:20 PM UTC
I sat in the refectory
for the first time
a monk was reading
from some book
on Queen Mary Tudor,
Deus videt in corde meo,
visitors sat in the center table
surrounded by monks
and no one spoke
except the monk reading
from a high platform
his voice in monotones,
and she spread herself
on the bed
legs wide
and said
enter my port,
Hugh talked of singing
in unison as if I wasn't
as if he hadn't chanted
like a cow in labour,
he should knoweth that
whoever undertakes
the government of souls
must prepare himself
to account for them
Benedict said,
I watched the monk
limp along the cloister
head bowed
and carrying a *****
head to one side,
bell rang from bell tower
God's voice Dom Charles said
picking apples
in the abbey orchard,
she spoke in that soft tone
she had velvety silky
and kissed me over and over,
Dieu ne se trompe pas
the French monk said
clipping the hedge
by the garden wall
and passing me
the clippings,
tolled bells rang out
across the cloister garth
and George spoke
of priesthood at some time,
the scent of incense
as I entered the church after Terce
and sunlight in the high windows,
Gott im Mauerwerk
the Austrian monk said
rubbing fingers down
the brickwork in the cloister
feel Him he added
and I did,
it is not enough to possess
a good mind but to use it well
Gareth said by the abbey beach
quoting Descartes,
Dom Joseph(dear Bunny)
smiled his broad smile
like a sun rising at dawn,
the abbot tapped
on the table
and the reader
ceased reading
and prayers were said,
after Lauds
I made my way
for black coffee
and brown bread.
Feb 8, 2016
Feb 8, 2016 at 2:45 PM UTC
Dom James sent George and I
to clean out the guttering
on the back of the abbey
a view of the Solent
from where we stood,
Deus videt omnia,
dropped leaves
and bird's feather
clogged the black guttering
made water overflow,
Hugh rang the bells
of the abbey tower
we saw his thin shape enter
no Quasimodo was he,
make love to me
she said make me feel
and feel so I did,
pray as though everything
depended on God
work as though everything
depended on you
Augustine said,
le travail est notre prière
the French monk said
showing me how
to sow seeds
in the abbey garden
summery heat
on black serge,
George swept the refectory
he said sunshine poured in
through the coloured
glass windows
onto the tables
and benches
making patterns on the floor
as an art work,
the Austrain monk sat
by the cloister wall with me
and said
die Heilige Dreifaltigkeit
ist ein Geheimnis,
Mary has a special relationship
with the Trinity
Dom Charles said
daughter of the Father
mother of the Son
and spouse
of the Holy Spirit,
the abbot walked the cloister
black robed
head lowered
in thought or prayer
hands hidden in the pockets
of his black habit,
you must finger here
she said
and placed my finger
where she meant,
qui Dio ci parla
the Italian monk said
as we brought vegetables
in from the gardens
to the abbey kitchen
where Dom Patrick cooked,
I don't know why
we are here
but I'm pretty sure
that it is not in order
to enjoy ourselves
Gareth said
quoting Wittgenstein
as we sat on the beach
after lunch
casting stones in the sea
just us
him and me.
Apr 8, 2016
Apr 8, 2016 at 3:16 AM UTC