! Saint Bernard In The Fields At Clairvaux. For Hilary.

That day as the sun set, its afterglow flooded the world with light like the meeting of heaven and earth; then the great bell of the abbey tolled the vesper; the workers in the fields lowered their scythes and bowed their heads or knelt on the sharp stubble; a grasshopper rested on the rough hem of my robe; nature held its breath and knew eternity I listened as the echo of the bell took all my listening, and then was heard no more; but listening remained; the silence became full of all things, and all things were praise and all things were love and all things were understanding: there I heard no other; there I saw no other; there I understood no other; but was infinity itself love itself is understanding; understanding is itself all love.