Cathedrals

There will be no more cathedrals built
as St. Vitus was in Prague
over six hundred years
The toil begun, cornerstones laid
by those who knew
a roof would not be achieved
in their lifetime
or those of grandsons

These were men looking beyond mortality
these planners
these craftsmen
of dreams
Mankind no longer spends a lifetime
on his knees
either to pray or to build
and there's sense in that

But I stand in the shadow of this cathedral
and watch the sunlight sifted
through a seive of stained glass
in stunned wonder
at the sheer beauty of that labor
No, they'll not be built again
as this one was
and that's all that can be said