Notre Dame de Paris
Cornerstone laid by Pope Alexander III
on the ruins of St. Etienne,
and farther back a Roman temple,
856 years passed. She rose arched and buttressed.
Patched, rebuilt, desecrated by Reason,
Consecrated by a million masses:
The lifting of the host, the sipping of the chalice.
Confessions from the heart.
Deeply embroidered altar cloths.
Priestly robes in golden thread.
Incense. Candles. Flames against stone.
Standing through wars' immolation,
our Lady heard the pleas and did not scorch.
No flames could singe her.
Parades and holy days, baptism to coronation,
She stood. Our lady.
Beacon of light in the City of Lights.
Dust to dust, ashes to ashes.