Ode to Wells Cathedral

I’ve never seen wildebeest on the Serengeti
Never sipped coffee on a Venetians jetty
Never been to Sark, which they say is very pretty
But I’ve been to Wells Cathedral

Never marveled at the Taj Mahal
Never been to Vermont in the fall
Never glimpsed the Berlin Wall
But angels smile down from Wells Cathedral

At the Hermitage I never bowed the knee
Never sailed a boat upon a pearly sea
Never sought to visit the land of the fee
But I’ve smelled the sweet incense of Wells Cathedral

Never seen the eddies of the Niagara Falls
Never strolled the famous Vatican halls
Never heard the rare red parrot’s calls
But if there’s a god, he lives in Wells Cathedral

The scissor arches, the vivid purple of the cloth
The clock, the sacred theatre, the bubble and froth
The window that escaped the Roundhead wrath
They live in Wells Cathedral

Winchester, Canterbury, Lincoln, York
What if those gothic walls could talk?
Ancient tales from an ancient flock
Tales that seep from the pores of Wells Cathedral

Don’t rush through as tourists tend to do
Linger, your rewards will gradually accrue
Stay silent, take in the enchanted view
And you will find your god in Wells Cathedral