Heart's Temple

Heart's Temple

A Poem by Andrew james
"

A short story about our focus in life

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Heart’s Temple

 

The old temple was discovered

From a time of long ago

No one knew the purpose it served

To the neophyte what it did show

 

Uncovering the chambers of old

Removing stones from where they fell

Finding objects hidden for centuries

And the stories they could tell

 

Centuries of sand cradled the structure

Who knew the beauty it once possessed

For time had ravaged this temple

And its beauty remained nonetheless

 

Above the stones lay chars of wood

The result of a terrible fire

No attention was paid the ashes

Nor implications of something so dire

 

Colored paintings on its faded walls

Told a story in pictures unclear

Of its priest and its purpose

The tenets its religion held dear

 

But no one knew the language

Nor the meaning in each picture there

Showing little interest in the stories

Now the people just seemed not to care

 

Looking for treasure of gold

For objects the legends did tell

For the beauty in each temple object

Was in the money as each one would sell

 

When searching for objects of gold

Within the walls none could be found

No gold within hidden chambers

No coins to be found on the ground

 

The temple now cleared of possessions

Now no objects to lie on the ground

No longer would neophyte enter

Within no longer a sound


But the pictures still told a story

The reason the building stood there

In a time long removed from our own

When once the people did care

 

In a time long ago of the heart

Symbols would tell the whole story

The people would live with their God

Their spirit reflected His glory

 

The focus of intentions were different

From the time in which we now live

In ancient times so long ago

Love’s intention is what they would give

 

The temple once stood on a hill

They could see its bright marble of white

A fire was placed on the alter

So its glory would shine in the night

 

In procession the people would dance

To the foot of the temple on hill

Giving offerings of love to their God

For with love they tempered their Will

 

No one cared for the value of gold

Their spirit had risen much higher

The value of life to these ancients

Was to their God to aspire

 

But their children no longer danced

No more procession to the foot of the hill

Their focus had turned from their God

Love no longer tempered their Will

 

So their God from this temple departed

Leaving His children there to learn

Their focus must be love’s intention

Then to them their God would return

 

But their God loving his children

Could not leave them alone to learn

So He placed a temple within them

A place in their heart they could turn


They no longer looked to their God

They worshipped what they could possess

Forgetting the glory of their fathers

By their Will they accepted much less

 

So the children built a new temple

Placing it above the old temple stones

A temple to commerce and trade

To worship the gold on its own

 

This temple now built of wood

Their focus now to worship the gold

With greed the temple soon fell

 All was forgotten of the temple of old

 

Their creed was to worship their gold

They preached to the lands of the earth

The glory of trade and of commerce

To them a religion of worth

 

The people with each waking moment

Worshipped their god made of gold

They no longer used love’s intention

So the life within all soon grew cold

 

They turned to their god made of gold

Seeking warmth they need to live

Their god made of greed and of lust

No warm to them would he give

 

This god stood at his temple

Selling the fire within the walls

The people following their creed

Bought the fire whenever he’d call

 

No love now warmed the land

Each season the cold seemed to grow

All forgotten of the God in their hearts

Of His temple their fathers did know

 

Their god now following his greed

Asked sacrifices for the fire he sold

The sacrifice demanded of them

The love their souls would not to hold


The fire in the temple of commerce

Burnt hot in the day and the night

The people would worship this god

As long as the fire burnt bright

 

This god in the greed for his gold

Kept the fire burning of wood

Where forests once lived in the land

Scenes of desolation now stood

 

The people seeing the destruction

Would run to the temple to hide

Their god stood in the doorway

And entry to all he denied

 

So the people stormed the temple

Set fire to the temple of wood

Consumed by this burning ambition

The temple no longer stood

 

With fear the people would run

As the fire burnt out of hand

Their exodus continued for days

Until they had reached a new land

 

With each generation now passing

Their children forgot their father’s story

The temple of gold now in ashes

What has happened to the temple of glory?

 

Uncovering the temple of old

Will the pictures now tell lessons clear?

Will our hearts understand their meaning?

To cherish the love once held dear

 

Or will it once more be a foundation

For lessons not learned in the past

To worship once more the material

Of a religion that never can last

 

Both temples are no longer needed

Both replaced by the one of your heart

If you truly look for your God

This is the place where you start


You will worship the god you see there

The one you have placed on his throne

If it is not the God of love

It’s a god you’ve made on your own

 

Learn from the lessons once taught

Learn to love with all of one’s heart

Then your world will once more be a heaven

In your heart is where it will start

 

The temple now placed within you

Love’s fire must be seen from afar

For your God is always there seated

His temple is the person you are

 

So remember the lesson here taught

The lesson of need and of fear

Your god you always will worship

By what in your heart you hold dear

 

The fire within may consume you

Or it may shine as a beacon to all

With your heart focused on love

Your temple never will fall

 

The people you meet will see

By what you do and the love you give

Your true God is seated in His temple

Shown to all in the life you now live

© 2013 Andrew james


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Reviews

What a great story for the Christmas season, a time when we see real world examples of the temples you constructed here. Sadly, the temple of commerce seems to consume more every year. The flames are so bright, many are drawn like moths to the light. But some choose to shield their eyes and look inward instead.

I had fun reading this. I like that you took the time to explain the 'moral of the story' to help close the poem.

Posted 10 Years Ago


Andrew james

10 Years Ago

Thank you. Not sure what to call them poetry or shorts stories in verse? Anyway, these thoughts co.. read more

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Added on December 23, 2013
Last Updated on December 23, 2013

Author

Andrew james
Andrew james

Jacksonville, FL



About
I am a 56 year old married grandfather. I write what some may think of as poetry, I myself see thoughts written down in a some poetic pattern but not quite sure it is poetry. The meaning is what is .. more..

Writing