I’ll seek in my mind to visit
That stone monastery
On the mountain of doubt
The ruins of that building
Will still be there
The woods and fields
All green and productive
The plague forgotten

Fra Sebastiano
Fra Bartolomeo
Their company of dedicated monks
Are all gone too
As they predicted
All forgotten in time

I will find however traces
Of their presence
So long ago
Marks on the floor
Of the cold stone cells
Where their knees left
An impression
Of their continuous praying

I’ll sink my metaphorical knees
Into that long forgotten space
And thank them for lessons learnt

Let me spell it out
That monk of mine
Showed me the way to understand
That all living things are divine
Needing support especially
Now at a time of threatening contagion

He taught me so clearly
To love my brothers
Use whatever gifts I have
To find ways to release the burden
Of these strange unexpected times

He was a master
Of dedication
Resolute commitment
To provide relief
In hard times
He fulfilled his role
To perfection

I hope my allegorically wandering
Will make clearer my intent
To reflect on values
That we need now

I’m not a religious man
By any stretch of the imagination
But I find great inspiration
In others , in other times
When they faced
The same current dilemma!

RIP Fra Sebastiano!