taste of heaven.

i see the angels, i see the saints who have gone before us and they sing Alleluia.
Alleluia is the name on their lips. they force it out sometimes because they are so short of breath.
they can't even breathe in your presence. Alleluia is the praise on their lips. it gets louder and louder and louder, earth shatteringly loud and then it dies down. and then it gets quieter, almost to a whisper.

and then Alleluia comes again.
you soak it all in. you gather up all the praise. you hug it into yourself. and you smile.
and you say, 'THESE ARE MY PEOPLE'. 'I AM HE, WHO IS YOURS'....

and they saw you and they stared at you in awe. and they worshipped you. and they worshipped you with all their hearts.
and they didn't hold back. they just sang. and they just worshipped. and you said, 'NOW SING WORTHY'.
and they sang WORTHY. and they didn't stop.
and then you said, 'SING LOVELY'. and they sang LOVELY. and they refused to stop.
and beauty arose. and flowers arose. and the sun rose. and the sky got bluer. and the mountains, they got bigger.
and the trees got greener.

and they began. they began to sing HOLY. but you didn't tell them to sing HOLY this time. they just sang it.
all creation sang it. they worshipped. it didn't stop. and you soaked it all in.
and you hugged it all in. and you smiled. and your face began to shine. and your eyes began to get brighter.

and then...
and then it began to happen...

one tear and then two, began to drip from your eyes. then it was three and then four.
and then,
the tears began to flow. and the words began to come out of your mouth.
you whispered, 'THESE ARE MINE?' 'THESE ARE MY CHILDREN?' 'THESE ARE MY KIDS?' 'FATHER THESE ARE YOUR KIDS?'
and you began to shout, 'YOU ARE MY CHILDREN!' 'YOU ARE MINE!' 'AND I AM YOURS!' 'WE'RE GOING TO DO THIS FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY!'

and then, he said it...
he said...

'I LOVE YOU. AND I'VE ALWAYS LOVED YOU.'

(august 5, 2005)