This poem has been published in the 2021 spring issue of Catamaran Journal: https://catamaranliteraryreader.com/spring-2021

—the Grace Cathedral of San Francisco 

Although admiring your
gorgeous church towering into the clouds
I wander in your labyrinth
on the low ground
with the heart of a common being
searching blindly 
hoping to break out of ignorance.

Although marveling at your
neon rainbow ladder reaching to the sky
I linger in your maze
in the dust of the world
with the mind of a common being
zigzagging endlessly
longing to step into heaven.

We are all living beings
looking up to you
like looking up toward a dream 
within ourselves
yet far and out of reach—

Maybe someday
grace brings enlightenment
revelations descend quietly:

It was we, who
erected the church overlooking the world
from the labyrinth of our hearts.

It was we, who
set up the rainbow ladder to heaven
from the maze of our minds.