Heaven's Doorway
A light - beyond bright -
beckons me warmly
from a place beyond which I cannot yet see.
As I approach a stairway which glistens like gold,
all my former burdens and apprehensions melt away.
Body aches have vanished and I feel that I am floating toward the steps,
melting from a warmth,the intensity of which
can only be matched by the radiance of the not so distant light.
A tenderness I now can easily recognize
emanates from that glorious light.
Nearing the stairway, I can hear sweet strains
of a music whose instruments I can't define.
I cannot see, and yet I strangely know, beyond any doubt,
that upon reaching the top of those golden stairs,
something splendid awaits me beyond the doorway.
Something forgotten is tugging at my brain,
an awareness of having been here before.
Am I simply returning to a place from whence I came
before my sojourn on the earth?
This is a place where loving spirits dwell in such perfect peace!
On reaching the door, I do not even have to knock.
My mere desire to enter has been heard
and my unspoken questions have been answered,
for the door slowly swings open.
I cross the threshold and enter not into a building,
but rather into another realm.
Vivid colors dance before my eyes in the guise
of flowered meadows, hills and rills, birds and butterflies.
This landscape of indescribable beauty seem to go on forever.
A deluge of memories comes flooding my mind.
Suddenly, a snow white dog comes bounding toward me.
It's my precious Ollyver, who died so many years ago, the first to greet me.
He leaps into my arms just as he used to do
every night when I reached the doorway of my earthly home.
Flocking toward me are others.
I become dizzy with happiness and the thrill of it all. . .
And then appears my stepfather, no longer afflicted with dementia,
along with my dear brother who left our earthly home
sadly when he was still in his prime and full of dreams!
Next come those beloved friends of my family,
people whom I saw each Sunday at church and who later passed away,
people whose lives touched mine all those years ago of my childhood.
Others that arrive I recognize instantly as ancestors of mine,
even though many of them I'd never even met while on earth!
They come to embrace me, one after another in the beautiful meadow,
and the music I had been hearing swells to the joyous sound
of an angel's choir. They are singing hallelujah to the Holy One -
our Christ, without whose sacrifice none of this could be!
Copyright © Andrea Dietrich | Year Posted 2012
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem.
Please
Login
to post a comment