Bicentenary Poems and Prose

Laying The Foundation-Stone: To 'Abdu'l-Baha

Laying The Foundation-Stone:
To 'Abdu'l-Baha1

On a cold and windy day in May,
the congregated
in Wilmette--
a city located
on the shores of Lake Michigan,
just outside of Chicago--
for the groundbreaking
and laying the cornerstone
of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkars2
of the Occident.

Taking a gold trowel,
'Abdu'l-Baha
and delegates representing
various American Baha'i communities--
from all religious
and ethnic backgrounds--
dig into the soil
and placed fragment
of the stone
that Mrs. Tobin brought
as her offering
to the Mother Temple of the West.

I meditate on these events,
and realize
it isn't the size
of the offering that matters,
but the sacrifice
it required.

Poet's Note: ▼

This is poem #25 in the 100 I'm writing for the centenary of the Ascension of 'Abdu'-Baha.

Footnotes
1  https://www.bahai.us/laying-the-cornerstone/
2  Dawning-points of praise and mentionings of God