Crypt in an Old Cathedral

Dr Abe V Rotor

Underground crypt  an old cathedral at Ho Chi Ming City, Vietnam. Photos by the author. 

A cathedral – but where is its door?
A barred gate, heavy lock at the rear,
Forbidden view the eyes couldn’t tour,
Footsteps only radar could hear.

That was before; the war is over now.
I knocked at the door. A kindly nun
Let me in and showed me all around.
I saw through the stained glass the sun.

Into the Crypt I dared not tread,
My shoes dusty, I was in slack,
Yet dared I to ask from the dead,
The martyrs the courage I lack. ~

A crypt (from Latin crypta "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics.