escapril

describe a smell: notre dame

the angels weep noiselessly
huddled together in the nosebleeds
they whimper and peer down at the curtain's fall
and the ashes that flutter
like haunted snow
laying to rest on the shifting toes of onlookers
as the ardent flames
throw billowing plumes of sunset amber
to the sky
and the rich odor of wood
settles sweetly in their lungs
the audience falters
sniffles at the sharp mix of cold and heat
ripping through their sinuses
they wonder
how does this great ancient's death
look so divine?

now that everything is lost to time