poem for 5/12

[Marian O'Grady]

Deliver us from Evil

(1940 Boys Boarding School)

denied time to mourn his gentle mother

driven there by a widowed father

daily routine of classes, exams,

chapel and chores

an ordinary afternoon, walking to chapel

with friends, a priest drew him aside

first touching his trembling body

then the shock and pain of a brutal bugger

threatened to silence

hid his hatred, fear and shame

at the second ambush, he bit a finger

of the hand over his mouth

so came the flogging. . .one. . .two. . .three. . .

belted hard onto his bleeding back

lashes from a lonely lecher

sent a blameless child limping

to an iron bedstead where, fetal,

he buried his sobs in a musty pillow

All the while, in the chapel, priests

and children prayed:

“Our Father who art in heaven . . .

. . .deliver us from evil.”

©Marian O’Grady