~ by Lawrence “Mack” Hall

[For Brother Columba and Brother Joseph
Abbey St. Joseph, Covington, Louisiana.
“He will make his promise in the name of the saints whose relics lie there, and to the abbot.”
– Rule of Saint Benedict, Chapter 59]

A man could swim across the Hellespont
Or walk poor Keats’ dark forest thoughtlessly
Drink deeply from the Castalian font
And through dear Shelley’s moonbeams kiss the sea

A man could dream across Creation’s arc
With Tennyson beyond the sunset sail
Soar past the solar fields and then embark
To guard with virtue stern the Temple veil

But other men…

But, peace – all Grace in whole, and not in part
Upon the Altar, and within each heart.

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