Doves Near the Grave of Thomas Merton
Peace hungers. Carnivorous, It hops in the grass, pulling Pink worms out of earth. Peace is avid, tireless. The message: above ground, Even the doves are never Quite whole. They are The gray of winter days Boys will remember when They are old men in summer. Only for the dead Does contentment seem possible. Someone has placed a stone On your grave, painted on it The words: "All Is Love." But I am disturbed by the doves, How they seem symbolic Of peace seeking itself. Even in the Kingdom, There must be gray days When the perfected sigh, Long to be elsewhere.