At Heaven’s Door

©2019 Susan Noyes AndersonImage by Joshua Earle on Unsplash

I dreamed that I could carry you,
but now I realize
my pocket had a hole in it,
just about your size.

I don’t know why I thought that I
could make things safe for you.
Enough had happened in your life
to prove that wasn’t true.

And yet I wanted to believe
that love would win the day.
The odds were rough, but still my heart
believed you’d find a way.

So many times, you did; so many
victories were yours.
But victories grow harder when
the suffering endures.

I thank you for each year you stayed;
I treasure every one.
You gave us all you had to give,
and now your work is done.

You bore the pain to spare our own,
until you could no more;
but now you’re free, and we will see
your smile at heaven’s door.

∞§∞

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