the very thought

I love the very thought of Heaven:

Where angels singIn perfect, perpetual choir practice.

Where Father, Son and Spirit ruleUnchallenged

And are honoured in full measure.

I love the very thought of Heaven:

But I was not madeTo live there.

I was not madeTo walk on clouds,And bask eternally

In immaterial splendour.

I was made for this green planet:

This tight ballOf aching beauty,

Alive with the unending possibilities

Of his creative power.

I was made for the sunshine

That blazes through the veins of a leaf

And glints on the tiny, perfect back

Of a ladybird crossing my arm.

I was made to be humanIn
this most human of places.

I was made for earth:

The earth is my home.

That’s why I’m glad that God,

More than anyone,Is a friend of the earth:

Prepared as he was to die

For its release.

And that’s why I’m glad

That the magnificent,
jewelled foundations

Of the mighty pearly gates

Will be anchored

Deeply and
foreverIn the soil of earth.

by gerard kelly