The Better Land

You have laid out paths for our feet of the infinite agate
jeweled mosaics sparkling each to each and intricately made
of beauty past our remembering, the cooling waters.

overhead, the sapphire;emerald, close at hand
and set us down in the rose gardens of the world.
as if that weren't enough jewelry for us then

we look overhead to see the spangled evenings'
crystalline unwind and we find
in our dreams your trees wind-whispering still

and beyond, the apple blossom orchards' snows
mimic so laughingly the frozen winter woes, the laceworked
and so, the apricot and the cherry in petaling chorales

the peach and plum as vivdly strewn.

and with us as the seasons run, the fainter perfumes
in memory remain,retain the hope of their return or
sometimes as is the way in dreams

or mystical paintings, music of the triptych paneled,
all at the same time comes to view and
limned with gold from the sun; the paler gold of the moon.

but oh we look where Heaven shines and prophesies

and long to find and want to sigh disconsolately
ah there is
a better land than this.

and I stop short to say: amazed and wondering:
how could there be

mary angela douglas 28 march 2016