THIS CATHEDRAL

© Rod Walford

Winner, 2013 Free XpresSion – Rhyming Poetry Category, Free XpresSion Magazine, Hoxton, Sydney, NSW.

I want you to be happy, but I seem to make you cry,
For a little teardrop glistens in the corner of your eye.
In the softness of its waters I see how you truly feel,
As in the corner of your heart, I humbly bow … and kneel.

I am silent, I am lowly, I am totally in awe
I am witnessing a miracle I’ve never seen before.
And here, within this hallowed place, my eyes begin to chart
The power and the splendour of a Christian woman’s heart.

I can see the damaged tissue that was once so scarred and bruised
Where the daggers of betrayal left you bleeding and abused.
Where the mirrors of your infancy, once burnished bright as gold
Lay tarnished with the images of broken dreams of old.

I can see the mighty firestones where the flames of childbirth blazed
And the plaques of dedication, for the years when they were raised.
I can see the shield of valour, for your courage, and your stand
In the face of their adversity … and death’s precocious hand.

There’s a limpid pool of crystal where your wishing coins were cast
There is one for every sentimental moment of your past.
They are made of gold and silver, but of copper there are some
With gentlest kiss, I make a wish … for all that’s yet to come.

There’s the haunting, muffled drumbeat of your pulsing heart so dear
It is calling to its soul mate … it is music to my ear.
There’s a glowing warmth surrounding me, it speaks of truth above
Of beauty, art and poetry, and soft eternal love.

Rising upward, as a mountain, is your solid Rock of faith
It is shining opalescent like a gleaming silver wraith.
And it carries every burden, every sorrow, seen or heard
For on its face is carved the promise of the living Word.

Then it dawns upon me slowly, and it makes me shudder so
For I recognise the beauty of this iridescent glow!
I have seen it in your laughter, I have felt it through your sighs,
It’s the heart of your foundation … and it’s right there … in your eyes!

I have seen a thousand sunsets and their dappled, painted skies
In the dawn I’ve seen the colours of the bird of paradise.
Though I’ve seen the summer’s glory in the flowers and the trees;
Your eyes exceed by far indeed the total sum of these.

I am deeply moved and humbled by my presence in this place
Just to know you, just to love you, just to look upon your face.
And I’d like to make my home here, that we never more shall part.
In this glorious cathedral … that is called your woman’s heart.


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