Five Poems After Stephen Horton O.S.B., by Johanna Caton O.S.B.

Foiled Lemon, by Stephen Horton, O.S.B. (England) contemporary

​Untitled 

Lemon’s rush:
zests like white-water-
captured.
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Humus by Stephen Horton, O.S.B. (England) contemporary

Untitled 

Portrait of mushrooms,
culled from shadows and dark woods:
art of deep earth.

Another Day in the Studio, #1, by Stephen Horton, O.S.B. (England) contemporary

Not So Still Life
  
When my back was turned
the pieces stole into place,
quiet as mist in the morning, 
glamorous as pouting models,
all cheekbones, legs and elbows,
struck lazy, impeccable poses 
knowing full well their over-
powering gloss and curve,
aware that the bottle’s tilt,
so vulnerable on the edge 
of the table, would make us 
(despite the bristling paint-
brush leaning in on the right)
long to reach out, handle it,
straighten it—make 
ourselves
safe.

Two Sisters Decorate a Cake, by Stephen Horton, O.S.B. (England) contemporary

Two Sisters Decorate a Cake
 
The painter’s art captures
the silence of the sun: I hear
 
the soft play, quiet rapture
of sugary girls as they create.
 
Morning’s long, bright glaze
shines on soft, child-arms,
on gleaming clouds of gold hair--
I wonder at this scene:
 
girls so intent, light so warm,
small fingers so itchy with icing:
 
by innocence they hallow a cake,
and make a new niche for the sacred

Umbrellas on a Beach, by Stephen Horton, O.S.B. (England) contemporary

 
Umbrellas on a Beach

Glissade of tide
sliding in and in,
eyes ride and ride
horizon’s line, 
sibilance of wave,
brine on the breeze,
two umbrellas:
a wild peace.

Johanna Caton, O.S.B.

Johanna Caton, O.S.B., is a Benedictine nun of Minster Abbey in Kent, England. Born in Virginia, she lived in the United States until adulthood, when her monastic vocation took her to England.  She writes poems as a means of understanding the presence of the Sacred in her life.  She is a regular contributor to the Catholic Poetry Room page on the Integrated Catholic Life website; her poems have also been published in The Christian Century,  The Amethyst Review and in other publications, both online and print.

Stephen Horton, O.S.B., is a Benedictine monk of Prinknash Abbey in Gloucestershire, England.  He runs a gallery at Prinknash Abbey in which his artwork is on display and for sale.  His works range from oil portraits on canvas to watercolors of architectural antiquities.   More of his work can be seen at this link:     https://www.prinknashabbey.org/st-albert-of-jerusalem
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