Swift Lord You Are Not

Some poets begin very early to write great poetry. Arthur Rimbaud wrote one of his best poems at 15, Percy Shelley published his first book of poetry at 18. But Kilian McDonnell, O.S.B., did not start until he was 75, after decades of writing as a professional theologian. Now 82 he gives us Swift, Lord, You Are Not, poems of the struggle to find God—waiting for the silence of God to break. He does not write pious verse, or inspirational poetry, but of wrestling with the illusive God. His themes are mostly biblical and monastic. He closes with an essay “Poet: Can You Start at Seventy-Five?” in which he describes the literary decisions he makes within the monastic context—decisions he needs to make with some dispatch. At 75 he does not have decades to mature. He writes with a new language.

Kilian McDonnell, OSB, (1921–2025) was a priest, theologian, and monk of Saint John’s Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota. He received his STD from the theological faculty of Trier, Germany, and taught at the Saint John’s University School of Theology. He was the founder of the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research at Saint John’s University and the author of several books, including five volumes of biblical poetry published by Liturgical Press.