You lie in state, Il Papa
like Lenin
in his Muscovite Tomb.
They have placed you
in your robe and crown,
lying beneath a Crucifix.
Cardinals
locked up in the Vatican
cast their ballots..
reporters and their cameras, throngs of The Faithful
circle about you, in a sort of
"Dance Macabre."
In the grotto
of St. Peter's Basilica
you will rest,
Karol Wojtyla of Krakow.