I handed in my ticket, marked with characters I could not read.
Stone sculptures curled around pillars, guarding something I could not see.
It was as if time itself knelt here.
Bright red lanterns swung, casting shadows on the mossy ground
Ginko leaves trickled like water into the koi pond
History rippling through the waters here
Creating a sacred trance.
In the heart of the temple, where incense spiraled,
Surrounded by people who looked like me
Talked like me,
I blended right in.
Sunlight bathed the temple, where Buddhas stood
I marveled at this sanctuary in Hangzhou, where tales of time are told
The bamboo whispered secrets
Mountains stood as witnesses
And people past and present wished.
So, in that moment, suspended in an eternity
Surrounded by the golden walls where ancestors and spirits prayed
I, too, wished and believed.
