Silence S'il Vous Plait

This queue was quicker
Ten minutes
And no charge at the door

Inside
The massive cathedral
Its vault and stained glass humbling
Its arcade and chapels
Intricate in layered carvings
Art and devotion going back centuries

So many people shuffled past
Ogling in wonder these wonders vast
Though not with devotion or reverence
But fairground awe
A Disney World sense
A Notre Dame World
All of them talking
A whispered roar
Like crickets swarming on a summer’s day

I sat in a pew and tried to pray
But couldn’t for the noise
Then as if on cue
An amplified voice broke through
“Shhh
Silence s’ill vous plait
Silence please
Shhh”

Swiftly the roar ceased
And in that space the words manifest
In my mind’s voice

I come in peace
Pray for my dead and ill
The women in my life
And their children

‘Cosmic spark
That animates everything
Numinous be thy realm…