new #Poem We had a paraffin lamp and no electricity
~ main post here ~ http://ashleybovan.wordpress.com/2014/03/17/poem-we-had-a-paraffin-lamp-and-no-electricity/
*
We had a paraffin lamp and no electricity
The monks nearby were no trouble
Their work was ethereal, not worldly
Their ethos not promoted, but used
Their influence, above words and thinking,
a gift to eternity
Our small cottage on the edge of the forest
was always dark and cold
Occasionally, when I went out to find logs,
I’d see a monk gathering mushrooms
or, further down the hill,
groups of them working on allotments
they never spoke
More out of curiosity than any known plan
I’d tried the handle of the door in their long northern wall
it had opened easily
I wandered in, to their library, and sat
enjoying the warmth of the wood fire
and the sunlight
This was many years ago
Since then, and with repeated visits,
I have never been confronted or questioned
It is as if, in the silence,
these men are my friends
and know me well
Ash2 