Dispatches for the Colonial Office: In Monastic Solitude

Sunday, May 10, 2026

Lawrence Hall

In Monastic Solitude

In monastic solitude I sat

Among the lilting liturgy of the leaves

Vocalizing no prayers, thinking no thoughts

Only trying to empty my poor mind

And listen to the Hymn of the Universe

The blessings of bees, the chantings of cicadas

The singing Silence of the spring-ing sky -

But in all of this I was unsuccessful

And that’s okay

My mind is too cluttered to pause and to be

But still, you see

I thought I heard You sighing in the wind

Dispatches for the Colonial Office