The Latroun Monastery
Israel
Here the hills
have known bloody battles.
The sun stood
still in Gibeon,
the moon halted
over this valley.
Vow-bound, you embroider the ancient
stillness with worship.
Vine-like,
you took root in
this naked soil.
Stubborn,
trellised by silence.
Your dark habits
earth-colored.
Your austere habits
like stark winter vines.
It’s a difficult land
where the desert wind,
a close neighbor,
shrieks in your ear
“Go away, go away, go away!”
And the soil keeps demanding
to be watered with blood.
The silent praise of your wine.
Noneuclidean Cafe