Paradise

The songwriter tells it plainly
“Everybody wants to go to Heaven but, nobody wants to die”
That dark price we pay, to see Heaven
And what would I see, were I there?
The poets and painters have crafted a vision for me
Of white clouds and wonder
Of many warm embraces
In a place that is joy
Where time would not mark my shadow
Nor evil stalk my mind
Yet all artist imagery is of earth
And familiar places and things
But the inspired writing says
“Eye has not seen, and ear has not heard
neither has there been conceived in the heart of men,
the things that God has prepared for those who love him”
For Lazarus did not report of Heaven
When risen from the dead
For it would have been unkind
To snatch him back from paradise
And King David did not enter Heaven
When he breathed his last
Yet if I should stand and gaze from Heaven's lofty heights
To that which lies behind
What peace would I find?
To see the world disintergrate
And dread and disease consume
To observe all suffering in an instant
And be powerless to intervene
To see my children toil
And age before my eyes
To witness war and want
Yet not to be able to extend a loving hand
To gaze upon the lonely billions
And the broken-hearted
For that is not paradise
That I cannot bear
And I decline the invitation
Heaven is not for the likes of me
For I was born on this planet
This precious home
Of colour and light
Of life and love
I would then plead
To spend eternity upon this soil
Even after death
For who could be happy in Heaven
When a promise of everlasting future is offered on this earth?
And I hear the sacred promise
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth, and they shall dwell forever upon it”
I will wait
I will sleep
Umtil He calls