That Carpet

That carpet, a brilliant sage,
now warn through in myriad places
by the feet of innumerable people.
Some parishioners, some not.
Some Christians, some not.
Some human, some not.
Seventy years of stepping on holy ground borne by this carpet,
wearing thin where the grace was most needed.
At each footfall, a tiny puff of dust arises like a genie,
like a gasp, like the holy ghost
haunting the path of every person who treads it.