We stand at a portal,
doorways to possibility
but the threshold is daunting.
Some doors are plain,
you pass without a second thought.
Others make you pause,
stand and behold the architecture,
it’s a big thing.

But this door closes shut
once you enter –
there’s no going back.
The room is so different,
high and spacious
and suffused with so much light and incense
you will wonder why you stayed
so long outside

copyright Francis Barker 2019