Sanctuary

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Sanctuary - from the Latin
sanctuarium - a word that offers
refuge and protection,
solace, peace…
and sanctum - meaning
sanctified or consecrated precinct;
an especially private
domain, asylum, or retreat:
history, nature, destiny
have made this word
more resonant,
made the sites it represents
more necessary.

When you think of sanctuary,
what apertures does it unseal -
what glimpses of a former self,
a present sense, a future dream?

Are you, perchance, a child again -
fresh dewprints on the morning grass
that lead to secret forest paths
or well-loved urban children's dens?

Are you a teenager with visions
delicate as butterflies,
that inundate the world with light
and catapult you to the skies?

Are you a fiery space-age knight
whose temple is the universe?
Are you a sage immured within
a crystal cavern of transcendence?

This word embraces worlds
of possibility, and space untold -
within this word is everything
you ever dared to have or hold -

caves where heaven is each breath
you take, and life is luminous,
chambers of the heart and mind
where love forms every filament.

Spirit reaches out in quest
of sanctuary, and is that quest -
wellspring of departure,
destination,
and the lonely journey -
in this word I offer you
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a precious gem to carry
in your soul, a symbol
that spells home.