Cathedral of Alife

Many have traveled the path,
Time and time again
From children, men and women
They are reminded of their sins.
They are fed within seduction, they are fed within fear.
They go to church to heal their minds.
This archway is their reminder,
Of how they should live their lives.

Women have passed thru to be married.
Soldiers have come to die.
Children have played on its steps.
Many Bishops have come and gone.
But this archway sits as a reminder.
A reminder of their sins,
So that when they finally pass this archway,
They will be admitted to the heavens.

It has watched for hundreds of years,
But now it sits here.
No more children to play at its steps.
No women to pass and be married,
No soldiers to be carried through.
No Bishops to wonder in.
This archway is no longer a reminder,
For it has no one to remind of sin.

It has been reduced to the modern day.
It has become obsolete in a sense.
This archway is only an exhibit.
Its no longer on holy grounds.
It strikes fear in no more men.
But it has meaning today.
This archway is a reminder.
A reminder of my sins.

(c) JP 2007

This poem was written about an ancient Archway of the Alife Cathedral. It is in display at Duke University