Quid Est Amor. Poem by Terry Collett

Quid est amor?
the monk read on
but I looked
at his greying
tonsured head
how the sun
made it shine.

Dio e uomo
the Italian monk said
un po 'meno degli angeli
and what is man
that God should
care for him?
Gareth said
in his neat Italian.

Sunlight
on the orange
brickwork
of the abbey
in the afternoon
and I helping
to pick apples
in the abbey orchard
doing as shown
by Dom Charles.

Dieu a tant
aimé le monde
the French monk
said to me
as I helped him
in the side chapel
to arrange things
for the Mass
qu'il a donné son fils.

La peine pour
le péché est en effet
nécessaire mais
ce ne devrait
pas être une
préoccupation
sans fin
Gareth said
quoting St Bernard.

She lay there
on her bed
spread like
an opening flower
and I she said
to plough her field.

The French monk
quoted Plato
les hommes sages
parlent parce qu'ils
ont quelque chose
à dire les fous parce
qu'ils doivent dire
quelque chose.

What is love?
she said
kissing me
all over
in her bed
the answer rattled
like a pea in a pod
around my head.