Such sumptuous beauty

of the hidden soul

made manifest in the arches

and the rocks and stone blended

into concrete

massed into shape

heart beating heavy

as marble covers rough patches

added grace

and monumental powers

push down into the earth

shouldering burdens

as always, man-made

here the piers, hear them

vibrating in groaning exaltation

the palace of creation

the home of mind

this tower pierced with

vision’s eyes

unblinking

thinking of where we are

and how we got here

 

Shallow dug the foundation

but bedrock underlies

even the shaking is amplified

by the knowing of darkness

the knowing of darkness

the gap between the rafters

the needless nothing

the wanting nothing

up the tower

to the sky before God.

 

We knock upon his door

and God knocks

it down

spreads us silly animals

made dumb, speech turned into

squawking like parrots and cooing

like pigeons, lame, no wings

falling slowly in circumspect

not believing the ground will be reached

enough time to stop and take a drink

to look at the clouds

and imagine the shapes hidden in them

and the meaning of it

the meaning we long to know

how did we get here?

Where will we go?