Temple of Wisdom

As I turned, amazed,
life rolled past me.
Like a stage set shifting—
from night to day, day to night again.
There were sunrises behind my eyelids,
then sunsets in pupils that wouldn't sleep,
and the days of mottled grey flew away,
like sparrows beneath my window, beyond.

What did my eyes not witness?
Rays, sky, dreams, children's laughter,
betrayals and sorrows I came to know,
and rains fell, rainbows shone within them.

My ears heard everything—
verse and song and words of love,
insults...crude, mockery for a swollen heart—
a torrent of sound bore down on me.

My hands held nothing—
a ring, a child in my lap, soft palms...
they caressed and were caressed,
yet still bore the marks of wounds.

Where did my feet carry me?
Wherever I went, others were born,
in countless directions they struck the pavement,
my footsteps—hurried and hushed.
My soul, both sinful and good,
scattered, gathered piece by piece...
love, hope, faith...and I understood
where my only happiness dwells:
in a quiet home, in children's eyes,
in the hand of the beloved beside me,
in a beautiful song for a true friend,
in hope for tomorrow,
in Hope that will not perish,
in that Love with pierced hands,
who paved our passage to the universe,
and opened the Creator's heart to love...

Oh my God, I have endured so much,
and how much remains, you know,
but please, in this wilderness of living,
let the good still blossom in my soul...
The days slip away ceaselessly,
my hair turns silver, but there—
in that deep place, my hidden
wisdom has built its temple.