Churches
Stone angels
and saints,
victims of war and neglect
with chipped noses
and missing ears.
The musty damp of mildew
and the crypts
of forgotten patriarchs.
The blunt clang of lifeless bells
in empty streets,
lonely alters with unlit candles
and plastic flowers
waiting for devotees.
Desperate
spires
reach to heaven,
vaulted ceilings
echo the solitary footsteps
of the occasional tourist.
Vagrants seeking alms
avoid her heavy doors,
hopeless.
Confessionals of somber visages
carved in wood
collect dust.
Cold stone waits
with the suffering Jesus
nailed to his cross.
©
2000 Richard Sidy
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