I bought a t-shirt when I visited Stonehenge
A carved Mayan god of volcanic rock at Chichen Itza
On the Parthenon mount, a ceramic replica of a Grecian urn
A cross in Notre Dame Cathedral
At the Parliament of the World’s Religions, a golden Amitabha
And at a second Parliament, Buddhist prayer beads
I was blessed, as are many, with an inheritance gift
For some, it would mean a new car
Others, a big house
Still others, a resort on the Riviera
For me, it was Stonehenge, Notre Dame, and the Parthenon
(Chichen Itza and the Parliaments were largely on my own dime)
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be”
My treasure was, indeed, spent at the promptings of my heart
I wanted to listen for ancient mystic Celts
Touch the stars the Mayans recorded
Walk where Socrates, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Themistocles, Pericles, and the peripatetics perambulated
Breathe in the Spirit of Christian beauty
Hear Indigenous teachings, Vedanta, ritual dance, eat at a Sikh Langar, commune with fellow pilgrims
And did, the expense paying its dividends where neither rust nor moth can corrupt
David Fekete 