Glimpse of Heaven

How curious, remote, the pain seemed now As a fly on the ceiling, she looked down Her body below in a hospital gown Incessant beeps emitted by machines With blips and waves on their monitor screens She tried to cry out; muffled were her screams No warmth penetrated surgeons’ white masks “What are they doing?” she wanted to ask “And how do I know they’re up to the task?” The scene rolled past like a horror movie Terror, she feared, would last eternally But the action, the beeps, stopped suddenly A creature of light appeared, took her hand Something seemed familiar about this man Had they met before in another land? Through a stone tunnel he guided her now Without taking steps, but floating somehow Toward figures moving in a misty shroud Some she recognized as they drew near Family and friends whose love she held dear Were welcoming her; she’d nothing to fear Parents, an uncle, a cousin and niece Beckoned her onward, her soul sensed release In a radiant spectrum, stairway to peace But as scenes from her life began to unwind A Deity with a voice so sublime Said, “I’m sorry, but it’s not yet your time.” Pulled by a vacuum, withdrawn from the light Through the tunnel again, though she tried to fight From the ceiling she gazed, witnessed the sight Electric currents jump-started her heart Paddles brought back pain she’d known from the start When later she woke, there was much to impart But a skeptical doctor denied her claim Her “journey” he dismissed as inane Circuits, claimed he, had misfired in her brain But she knew the truth, would not be deceived Even when only her pastor believed A glimpse of heaven she had received * * Based on my own experience during surgery long ago.