Facade, Amiens Cathedral

Amiens 

They lie under the cathedral floor

One by one, in order of interment 

And drink no water

Nor do they sleep;

The tapping of feet

Above them 

Is more perpetual

Than the blessed silence of the Virgin. 

Into that gray stone sky rise hopes:

Sin reaching towards salvation.

These holy fathers found firm footing

On the backs of their transgressions.

Even piety is dangerous. 

Mind you,

The shrines are mostly empty. 

Nothing stays behind

Except the echoes.

We are listening here

In the cold rain,

For a whisper

Of faces

Turned towards heaven. 

—Lee