To Heaven and Back

by CD Richards

One day whilst hiking through a glen
I felt a weariness, and then
Into a clearing my steps led
and on the grass I formed a bed.
I slept beside a sunlit stream
And lying there, I dreamed a dream:

In search of the South Pole I went
(It seemed an ill-prepared event)
Then, far from home, without a map
I couldn't find the polar cap.
I died out there upon the ice
And found myself in Paradise.

The sight I saw there seemed quite odd
There was no sign at all of God;
Nor Peter by the Pearly Gates,
To welcome us, and tell our fates.
The streets were rough, and rather old
They sure as heck weren't paved with gold.

Upon the land, no milk or honey
(But cows and bees, which seemed quite funny)
The Cherubim and Seraphim
If there at all were very dim.
As for the Pope, he wasn't there
But you, my child, must not despair.

I saw a place of meadows green
A wondrous and inviting scene.
Fields of sheep, and goats and cows
Surrounded by the brightest flowers.
All grazing there without a care,
A sight almost too sweet to bear.

They had no fear of knife or gun
No need at all had they to run.
In Paradise, mankind had learned
His place with others must be earned.
All life is sacred, not just man
We must not kill "because we can"

Man and beast, it's plain to see
Is just a false dichotomy.
We all are life, and all have worth
and not by accident of birth.
From mankind's blindness we are led,
But not, it seems, until we're dead.

Amongst the fields, I saw towns too
With people there, like me and you.
And yet, things were not quite the same
for one and all were known by name.
And every one of them took heed
Of every single other's need.

There was no Muslim, Sikh or Jew
No Christian, and no Buddhist too.
When we are dead we have no need
For false divisions based on creed.
There was no crass dogmatic fuss
No "us and them", it was just "us"

I journeyed on at quite a pace,
'Til I felt rain upon my face.
"What's this?" I thought, "In paradise
I'm sure there is no rain, or ice"
And as the fog began to lift
There came a realization, swift:

My travels there had all been dreamed
Oh, how genuine they'd seemed!
I wasn't dead, yet without mirth
I rose, again to walk the Earth.
And stepping by the water's side,
I bowed my head, and softly cried.

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