When you’ve known heaven
when you’ve glimpsed perfections birth
when you understand that heaven
is hidden here on Earth,
when you’ve been loved completely
when you have been seen
when he embraced your ugly
like your beauty just as keen.
When your dreams are understood
when your fears’ fire is smothered
by the water of his love
and the light within uncovered
heaven is revealed inside you
just because it’s freed
by being witnessed by the one
who you too loved indeed.
Heaven is a state of being
a place for us to dwell
when you’ve known heaven
all that’s not is only hell
when you’ve been to heaven
when you know where we belong
when the one you love is there
but you are here alone.
Though others give you comfort
felt deeply in receiving
still there is no end in sight
no time scale for the grieving
you understand distraction
in chasing happiness and hope
a means for souls to manage
a way for hearts to cope.
For deep inside ourselves
we all know the tragic truth
our world is in a prison
our necks are in the noose
it’s not just that we miss the one
who made our life complete
it’s through that love that we became
aroused from our deep sleep.
And in the pain of grief and loss
yet separate we are not
the space between now starkly seen
eyes open wide in shock
for every moment is a choice
every second of the day
a path of our own choosing
our thoughts that light the way.
For when you have known heaven
all that’s not is only hell
compassion is your liberty
as far as I can tell.
