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Saturday, April 19, 2014

POEM #19- Chitchen Itza


Chichén Itzá, by xtinabuena, Wikimedia Commons
As you know if you read my blog regularly, you know I've been participating in Mary Lee Hahn's "Our Wonderful World" Poetry Challenge. Each day, we travel to a different Wonder to write poetry; so far we have been to the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China, the Golden Gate Bridge, the CN Tower, the Itaipu Dam, the Delta Works in the Netherlands and lots more. Mary Lee and Kevin Hodgson and I have written every single day. Several other folks, Cathy Mere and Carol Varselona, have traveled with us some days.

Today we are journeying to Chichén Itzá, on the Yucatan Peninsula. I've been struck, as I have researched a lot of these places- pyramids, temples, mosques, etc.- by humans' search to know/understand/connect with their creator. Sometimes I've been struck by the beauty of their efforts. Other times, I've been saddened by the depravity or destruction involved. Today,  I was struck by both. I started with one poem, then felt like it was going in two entirely two different directions, so I broke it into two separate poems. I'm including them both.


"A Question"

Did Creator God’s
eyes twinkle
as He watched
small humans
chart movement of
His great fireball
across earth dome
measuring three hundred sixty-five
two or three or ten times
discovering precision
of Patterns
hand-created
millions of years
before?

© Carol Wilcox, 2014



Chichén Itzá”

Great Holiness
Humans seeking
to understand
Creator God
chart movement of
great fireball across earth dome
then construct temple
 to honor Sacred Precision
Great God smiles

Great Depravity
Humans seeking
to please Chaak,
giver of Rain,
hurl bejeweled beauties
into sinkhole wells
human sacrifice
Great God weeps

© Carol Wilcox, 2014

1 comment:

Mary Lee said...

...and nothing much has changed to this day. Still the holiness, still the depravity.

Hopefully, on the Easter Day, the Great God is smiling. We do get it right sometimes.