Chemin de Jerusalem

To walk, as pilgrims walked,
the labyrinthine way
of virtual penitence
before their understanding God,
our Lord and Maker,
an architect’s precision
marked the hallowed ground
with immaculate asymmetry:
one route in and out,
beginning with the end;
a single path traversing
quadrants north and south,
east and west; eleven circuits
leading inward to the six-leafed core
of contemplation.

In Chartres,
eight hundred years ago,
repentance on its knees
and hope upon its quest
commenced modernity:
worship in the Gothic age.
The road of Jerusalem
became a metaphor
in stone for pious men,
too poor, too rich
or too pre-occupied
with daily bread
to walk the holy walk.

Today that path is trod
- infrequently. Perhaps
we take a photograph
or wonder at those masons,
crafting work that stood
the tests of times long gone,

or it may be we lay down
good intentions on a road
now much less travelled.
.