“Everything!” say the Zen people
But have no idea, really, how that might work.

“Nothing” says 21st Century Man
And doesn’t give it another thought.

Actually, it’s naming a specific object or task
As being “holy” –
As if, by naming it, one can make it so.

There are those who try to eat the sacred
Believing, by swallowing it, you can bring God inside you –
Many religions practice a form of this belief.

The word “sacred” has also been used by various religions
And their faithful
As an “Open Sesame” to their proprietary collective –
A password that can get you past the front door.

Usually, when one claims something is “sacred,” they mean it’s “related to God” –
Something God has “touched” in the past and might want to touch again.

Are there people that, in and of themselves, are sacred?
Or is it only when such a person touches an object that makes it so –
For example, a spiritual symbol that can be worn on a gold chain
Ensuring that, if one suddenly dies, they’ll have a better chance of ending up with God?

Maybe sacred objects are simply reminders passed by along the road of life
Muttering: “There’s something important you’ve been missing.”

Back here, though, in the land of sunshine,
One final bit of unconscious joy is allocated just before we pass
To brighten up our final step
Into glory or, alternatively, to the place that’s quickly going dark.

Hopefully, long before then, you’ll be allowed the time to become a little more
“Sacred” yourself –
You know – along with God – in the land of the living.