Tibetan Temple near the Embassy, Beijing

In the central courtyard
a mountain of bronze terraces
encompassing all the continents formed from a caster's mold
represents the entire world

the center
rises to the apex
“Most Lofty Peak”

guarding the four directions
are blue-skinned Tibetan gods
wolf-headed
with ferocious faces
on their belts
trampling demons underfoot
ruling with the tiger
in a world beyond
the embassy's dispatches.