Imagine This

Cathedral

Spicy incense burning in my nostrils. Quiet emptiness all around me. The creak of floorboards underneath my heeled boots. The scratchy scarlet fabric digging into my knees. The steady hum of voices rising and falling as the book's binders crack open. Folded hands. Flickering candles. Emptiness filled. Heart overflowing. Light flickering through the stained glass windows. Golden crosses glimmering in the light. Sky blue ceiling. Brown beams overhead reminding me of a ship's skeleton. The pew creaks out from under me.    A man's voice fades in and out as he pounds the pulpit with his bare hand ever so often. The chant rises from our throats. Gooseflesh appears over my skin as the words begin to make sense to me. A heavy weight in my heart sinks lower as i realize what i've done. Closed eyes. My mouth keeps moving. Lift of heart. Standing and kneeling again but this time at the alter. Soft wafer of bread dissolves in my mouth. Tangy wine not weak enough with the added water. Eyes burning. Dress itches. The final song. The recessional cross disappearing behind the heads. The two candles extinguished. The lines pour from the pews. Shake hands. Cold air but it doesn't taste the same. It hits my face, chilling everything but my insides. There it's warm. An old lady smiles at me. I grin back. She pats my arm and keeps walking, alter flowers clutched in her withered hand. Real sky now, white and gray. Everything about outside feels chilled and crisp. I breath in and out. I came into the stone building a different person. Bent and empty. I came out refreshed. Full. My stomach growled. I smiled. I wouldn't go hungry for awhile yet.