Edwidge Danticat on Cathedrals

May I post something in April that isn't a poem?  Oh, but it almost could be, with its luscious language.  Edwidge Danticat wrote an essay about one of the two cathedrals that was destroyed in Port-au-Prince during the earthquake, and about the new cathedral to be built.  She writes:

"Yes, Notre Dame de Paris and Our Lady of Strasbourg are magnificent cathedrals, but they were not surrounded by bustling street markets; they did not function in the midst of such a busy atmosphere that the buzz of people's voices and cars honking were always part of the distant echoes of the Mass. These cathedrals might have been more pristine, but their saints probably didn't hear as many urgent prayers as those of Notre Dame de l'Assomption, where worship began loudly outside, in the sun, at the foot of the cross, where novenas were shouted rather than whispered, and votive candles flickered wildly as hot paraffin dripped down the supplicants' arms."

You can read the whole thing here.