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Gloucester in July
A thousand silent saints and angels
Hewn from vertex, plane, and angle
Raised by blow of mason’s hammer
Raised from stone to watch the faithful
Underneath the sinners stammer
Pray and weep, confess and clamber
The thousand faces, gray, unblinking
Witness judgement’s heavy hammer
Saints and angels in the rafters
Shadows of the Everafter
Avatars of holy power
Heralds to the day of Rapture
Climbing skyward up the steeple
Looking earthward over evil
Standing vigil from the towers
Sleepless guards of the Cathedral
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Patricia Rogers Crozier has been published in The Washington Post. Both reading and writing poetry have always been a great joy to her. She holds a B.S. in Physics from Mississippi College. She resides in Gulf Breeze, Florida, where she works at the bakery in Publix.
Very rhythmic, filled with images. Very nice, Patricia!
This is quite lovely, Patricia! I love your idea of expounding on how the saint and angel figures on the cathedral are watching what happens on the earth below them, as well as reminding us of heaven. And I was surprised at my positive reaction to your assonantal rhymes (I normally prefer consonantal rhymes): stammer/clamber; rafters/rapture; and steeple/cathedral seem to me to work very well.
Cynthia is exactly right about your delightful half-rhymes. They cause a reader to reassess what is going on with each successive stanza, which, rather than being an impediment to understanding the poem, create pauses during which the mind is better able to grasp the entire general meaning — or something like that. But I wonder, Patricia, how you apply your education in physics in the context of a bakery. Do you ever wish you had studied chemistry instead?
Lovely to read Patricia with some fine imagery of a place we know very well. Thank you.
Patricia, You have given us a good poem. The imagery and rhyme are masterful.
Patricia, what a beautiful picture you paint of Gloucester and its cathedral with the deep meanings behind the hand-hewn saints and angels. I particularly loved your insertion of the modern word, “avatar.” Perfect imagery!
A good poem indeed, Patricia. May Gloucester and its cathedral return to Saint Peter and the Holy Trinity to whom it was so long ago dedicated and destined. Your piece by its power asks this question for a day when it is most difficult to find the answer. You give life to many faces contemplating Judgment’s heavy hammer in that word’s many senses. Best wishes for all your work!
Patricia, I have thoroughly enjoyed this mellifluous marvel – it’s inspirational end rhymes and exquisite images are a spirit-lifting treat.
A palpable excitement courses through this poem, just under the surface. You can feel its momentum toward the end of days.