Temples in the Jungle

Your mind is a cluttered temple.
Buddha in the jungle.
Christ in the crowds.
Easy to lose in the clutter,
in the seeking of sacred silence.

And it is sacred.
It is where you find God,
a cosmic Where’s Waldo
of peace, where there is no peace,
and fewer still willing to do the work to find it.

Better the demons we know,
their gnawing nibbles taking their inch of blood
each day, death by a thousand thoughts,
than to banish them and be left listening
to yourself,
to discover you are just as much demon
as angel.

About this poem

It has been a mad couple of weeks, with a mad week in front of me. No time or energy to gather the silence around me that I thrive on, mystical introvert that I am.

This too shall pass.

Tom

PS: For my fellow word nerds. The phrase “This too shall pass.” is often attributed to the bible. Actually, it is is a proverb from the medieval Levent (Persian, Hebrew and Turkey) around 1200AD.  I like it when religions borrow from each other.