THE NUNNERY

1.
I see her in the shadows of a half remembered garden;

the nunnery’s selection

from a vintage of perfection;

the softness of the waters that the winter couldn’t harden;

the destiny of roses

another house exposes;

the savour of the teardrops that a saint has left her heart in.

2.
Sir Gallahad in person takes her waltzing round the ballroom;

encumbered with his armour,

she knows he’ll never harm her;

such women are for worship, so we’ll listen and adore them -

remarks that bubble laughter

at scholars and their masters -

and all of them as virgin as their mothers were before them.

3.
Having led her to the altar, in his cottage full of flowers,

he’ll tell to her his story

of the world in all its glory.

Yet now that he has got her, she must learn to feel his power -

Boleyn, to keep her neck on,

comes running when he beckons,

while looking to escape from his abominable tower.

4.
Compare it with the gulping of the fish that never thirsted

in the midst of so much water,

till the angler came and caught her.

Fidelities forsaken, there is no one to be trusted;

when children know their father,

a brother may be smarter;