Love’s Cathedral

By Paul Engel

It seems I should build a cathedral,
To properly express,
My love to you,

🩷🩷🩷

With flying buttresses,
And vaulted ceilings,
And stained-glass windows,
And a decor of silver and gold and gems,
And exotic stones,
And rare woods,
With spires and statues and paintings,
And gargoyles,
(Because a cathedral is not a cathedral without gargoyles),

🩷🩷🩷

And hidden staircases leading to the sky,
And elaborate rooms without entrance or exit,
And catacombs,
(Because a cathedral is not a cathedral without catacombs),

🩷🩷🩷

It would take centuries to build your cathedral,
And it would last forever,
And the world would marvel over it,
But I’m getting carried away now,
And I digress...

🩷🩷🩷

It seems I should build a cathedral,
To properly express,
My love to you,

🩷🩷🩷

But I’m afraid,
All I have to offer,
Is the simple chapel,
Of my heart.

🩷🩷🩷

Paul Engel is a poet who writes, lives, works, and will probably die, in Woodridge, IL, USA. He matriculated at Northern Illinois University where he earned a BA in English Literature. His poems have appeared in: Hummingbird, Hedgerow, tsuri-dōrō, Red Moon Anthology, The Heron’s Nest and Lothlorien Poetry Journal to name a few.