I stroll each day through the streets of a Holy City
find the places that call for me to pay homage
savor the incense of lilacs, jasmine, and honeysuckle
on every corner,
each inhale, a different delight

This is the Holy City of the
feminine spirit,
of life-giving light
housed in temples of flesh.
each temple is unique,
beauty and spirit
manifested in so many ways
This is my polytheism
my prayers, sacrament and communion
expressed differently at every temple
these sacred curves and smiles
i work to never profane

Some of these temples
so awe inspiring and lavish,
bright jewels and adornments
blindingly drawing attention that
collects many alms, from great distances
spent to show even more splendor
beauty becoming visible from space.
yet sometimes, not enough effort is spent
cultivating the insides
of these cathedrals
they are barren,
and unattended
only filled by baritone echoes
searching for significance

Straying off the main roads
on lazy humid afternoons
with the air thick like a sauna
sweat clinging to my brow
I come across
what seem like ancient ruins,
shadowed under a primeval forest
disguising cracks on the walls, spider-webbing
across what were golden archways,
sagging doors on rusted hinges,
relics of a history when their spirit was venerated
praised without equal, now forgotten and unhallowed
by the marauders of age and time
yet they contain more wealth and riches inside
than anyone could ever desire from divinity.

but my favorite places of worship,
the temples where i feel most connected
are those that are modest.
No towering minarets of self-proclaimed glory
no focus on dazzling onlookers to gain followers
places where dust and neglect
give the appearance of decay.
stepping inside, there is a mess
of old debris, plaster that has crumbled and
fallen from the ceilings,
left by misguided and drunken profaners,
the destroyers of goddesses
and the spirit
it’s through the act of gentle dusting,
and sweeping thoroughly
that makes my most holy act of piety
restoring the beauty
that never left, but lay dormant
taking the time to reinvigorate
the grandeur of the temple
i know is there.