Fate of a Soul

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Questions about the human soul have 
mystified mankind from time immemorial

Is the soul of the faithful dead like Christian 
in "The Pilgrim's Progress," making the perilous 
journey from the "City of Destruction"
--our world--to the "Celestial City that is heaven?

What really happens when we die?
Where does the soul of the dead go?
Is it really true that the soul never dies
when one's lifetime is through?

When I inevitably spirit off to the great beyond
will my soul refuse to follow or tag along?
I wish I knew. It's the mother of all mysteries
What of a soul languishing in purgatory? 

How long does it linger there in anguish...
waiting to be cleansed? Is salvation guaranteed?
So a soul as black as coal doesn't die 
a dog's death when the body dies, too? 

What of a rotten apple of a soul redeemed 
as the body lies dying? It is also sieved and salvaged 
by God on Judgment Day? In near-death experiences, 
does a soul escape before sneaking back in?

What if a long-faithful soul goes horribly astray, 
unredeemed? Does God still handle it with great care, 
as though it were fragile glass? Is it still safe?
Or sucked into the vortex of hell for eternity?

Most importantly, what IS a soul?
Oh, the nagging existential questions!

 
Date written and posted: 09/15/2018

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