After attending the Bahá'í National Convention last year as a youth, Saraiya Ruano felt inspired to share a glimpse of her experience with others. She chose to write a poem about the Mother Temple of the West after witnessing firsthand its magnificence and splendor. 

As an avid bird watcher and nature lover, Saraiya spent quality time throughout her visit familiarizing herself with the gardens around the Temple.  "I remember seeing the dove walking among all the bright flowers and the striking purple blossoms," she recalls. Her poem, "The Pearl of America," reflects her experiences at the House of Worship as well as her enjoyment of the nature surrounding it.

 The Pearl of America

(The Baha'i Temple in Wilmette, IL)

Saraiya Ruano

Stately pillars of all the faiths

Lacy intertwining of soft white stone

Fountains that shimmer with glittering water

 Crowned dome pointing skyward, to the unknown

The choir within sings to the star up above

Prayers are chanted in echoing voices

Inward eyes are flipped open and hearts cast anew

As the Kingdom of God rejoices!

In the lush green gardens the fair dove coos peacefully

And joyously the rainbow headed grackle calls

The crimson-breasted robin warbles her sweetest song

Such riveting utterances to all ears enthralls

The golden pansies, the lions of the garden,

Which sprout from the moist, brown soil

The orange tulips of spring that reach for the heavens

And the fuzzy, yellow striped bees that bumble and toil

Blossoms of pink that blush in the sun

Petals of crinkled white silk

Tear-dropped shaped leaves of emerald green

Back dropped by a temple pale as milk

The warbler up above sings only for its Master

And the people pray solely to Him

The trees will grow tall only under God's sun

In a paradise where sparks of life and love never grow dim

In its usual way the fiery sun sets

Painting the temple in tinted pink shades

It then becomes shrouded in hazy gray shadows

But the brilliant light glowing within never fades

If America was a clam,

Buried deep in the fathomless sea,

And a diver cracked her hard shell open

There'd stand our Temple for all she can be