A ceramic bowl, a sacred plate
were found at the site –
offerings to a Mayan god.
A cross, a tomb –
signs of where that other god appeared.
A minaret, a temple,
ritual lashings and prostrations
and twenty-five hundred saints and martyrs
prove loyalty to other gods.
Yet my god has no symbols,
asks for no shrines
and demands no rituals
but that I learn to sit silently
by a quiet stream
and listen
or watch my dog sniff invisible scents
while I look at the vast sky
and fly
beyond.

© 2013 Marlon de Souza. All rights reserved.