 Further , Trappist monk , poet and spiritual writer Thomas Merton used Kilmer 's poem as a model for a parody called " Chee $ e " — with a dollar sign purposefully substituted for the letter " s " — in which Merton ridiculed the lucrative sale of homemade cheese by his monastery , the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky . This poem was not published during Merton 's lifetime . Merton often criticized the " commodification of monastic life and business for a profit " , claiming that it affected the well @-@ being of the spirit . In his poem , Merton attributed his parody to " Joyce Killer @-@ Diller . " 
