The fantastic creature came toward us dressedWholly in white; and in its face, somethingLuminous, like Venus in the morning.The arms opened, then the wings opened;“Come, the graded walkway is near,” it said.“From there on out, the ascent will be easy.Only very rarely does one get this invitation.O human beings, you’re born to fly straight up,Why does a little gust of wind bring you down?”He took us over to a cleft in the rock face; there,He tapped my forehead with his wing, thenPromised that from here, it would be steady-on.The way one climbs the hill on the right,Over Rubaconte Bridge, where the church that keepsThe well-managed under its thumb is perched,And the daunting pitch of the slope is brokenBy stairways built back in an eraWhen measures and ledgers were sacrosanct,So here too, the steep incline coming offThe higher terrace levels out a bit, exceptFor where the high stone wall infringes on it.As we were in. the midst of making the turn:“Blessed are the poor in spirit,” in a singsong voice,Nothing at all like how it sounds in a sermon.Ha! How different the hallways here areFrom those in Hell. Here songlike chantingUshers one in; down there, shrieks and moans.Now, mounting the sacred stairway, it seemedTo me that I was already much lighter,Lighter even than before on the flat plain.Which led me to ask my teacher, “What typeOf gravity have I been released from, that climbingThe steps is now more or less effortless?”His answer: “When the remaining PsStill on your forehead—although fading—Will like the other one, be completely removed,Your wish to do good will so convince your feet,They’ll not only feel no fatigue, they’ll beEven happier when you hurry them along.”At that point, I did what people caught unaware doWhen they suspect, based on how others are acting,That they may have something on their face—Which is to use the hand to help settleThe question by feeling around and finding outWhat can’t in the moment be solved by seeing—With the fingers of my right hand, it was easyTo find that of the letters carved on my foreheadBy the one with the key, there were now only six.Glancing over at that, my guide smiled.