COMPLINE

The final bell

calls the monks

to prayer

“For Satan prowls like a hungry lion seeking whom he may devour”

and no better hunting ground

than among

men

who have

denied themselves

touch

who may

embrace

but not caress

and

who enter

The Great Silence

in darkness.

The monks pray

for

a restful night

and.

a peaceful death

while

the lion

pads

beneath

the cross

that savage absolute

hovering

in

every

cell

and

listens

for a

signal

of

flesh

so it may

cull

the herd.

RW

Santa Fe/Seattle

10.17 – 11.04.2018

(photo:  christdesert.org)