I Remember Heaven*

I closed my eyes 
As she sang me a song 
Laying there for the dying. 
It wouldn’t be long.

She was so kind

And the dyin’ so easy

Like standing on a mountain

The air clean and breezy.

Her fingers stroked my hair

And her song touched my soul

Like the smell of rain fills my lungs

Or like slow rivers roll.

She finished her song

In her hushed, gentle way

Then bent to my ear

With one final word: Stay.

But it wasn’t my choice.

Dying wasn’t my will.

Angels took me away

Over a bright, distant hill.

No matter the glory

And no matter the prize

I remember heaven

In her song and her eyes. 

* I've lost three dear friends in the last three weeks. Dying must be on my mind, of late. I'll get past it. But we all walk away bruised. One is hard. Three? Harder.