With Me

                                                                     Dnalor 01, Spiritus Sanctus​​

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April 1999

 

This isn’t like St. Peter’s Church back home

in Winchcombe; I had thought our church quite grand,

but here, in the Basilica in Rome,

my legs are shaking slightly as I stand

inside the entrance. There had been a screen

of scaffolding outside, withholding all

these arches, all this gold-and-silver scene,

these figures from my thoughts. I am so small

and insignificant within this world

of massive saints displayed so high above.

One shows a hefty hand, three fingers curled,

the index pointing outwards to the dove

upon the window, awe-inspiring art,

yet with me, in this space, inside my heart.

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Published in Amethyst Review, September 2025

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[Notes]

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Next: A Portrait of Birches