within

a favorite poem of mine

i read a map once
saying the kingdom of God
was within me
but I never trusted
such unlikely ground

i went out.
i scoured schools
and libraries
and chapels and temples
and other people's eyes
and the skies and the rocks,
and I found treasures
from the kingdom's treasury
but not the kingdom

finally I came in quiet
for a rest
and turned on the light

and there
just like a surprise party
was all the smiling royalty
king, queen, court.

People have been
locked up for less, I know.
but I tell you
something marvelous
is bordered by this skin:

I am a castle
And the kingdom of God
Is within.

Carol Lynn Pearson