A BIOGRAPHY
Ray Fenech
The Old grandfather clock chimes the Ave Maria.
When his grandparents died the sound became a mental strain.
It was sold in an auction, he will never hear its refrain.
His uncle’s summer residence was a lighthouse.
With his cousins, as a child, they chased the shadows away.
Dusk was an adventure, only stars lit their way.
For years his father was a Franciscan novice. Sex was a sin.
Sunday mass with cousin Elsie was a passionate quest.
Hands folded, he reached with his fingers to fondle her breasts.
In South Africa he lived in a hut with the poor.
It was at the peak of youth, when he was moving at full steam.
There, all hopes and aspirations vanished like a dream.
The house where he lived, where he would want to die
Smelt of the past, when all was well and he was young.
There, garden ghosts whispered advice in silent tongues.
When he was assigned to Bosnia, he became immune to fear.
Being a Red Cross volunteer required a certain courage.
When it was over, he was no longer afraid of carnage.
He was thirteen and naked. He did not know he was being watched.
His cousin Ralph walked inside his bedroom like a streak.
His eyes spoke clearly. Ralph was strong and he was weak.
His first “love” was homosexual. He was raped by pleasure.
When eighteen, Cecilia came giving him the first French kiss.
When his tongue inside her churned up juicy bliss.
Cecilia had the loveliest eyes he had ever seen.
Her lips sensuous, when she spoke his eyes filled with tears.
Her breath slid softly inside his ear like an elixir.
As a child his favourite companion was a piece of cloth.
When frightened he covered his face keeping the world outside.
He grew violent. Tsaikovsky’s 1812 was as if war was in his mind.
Personality disorder struck. He fought against himself.
Until reality and the fear of death drove him insane.
A clock chimed the Ave Maria, he will never hear its refrain.