Prayers

They told me that I would stay safe

From Hell’s blazing fires

If I walked straight on the path

And recited my prayers.

But huge distractions came my way

As sights and sounds and smells

And my thoughts no longer dwelt

On the burning fires of Hell.

I found friends who had been told

Of other Gods and skies

But they too chose to run away

From the sacred and the wise.

We drew close and held hands

To form a sheltered loop

And we moved to a secret tune

Like dancers in a troupe.

We felt our hearts with sunbeams fill

And heard music from a flute

We knew the tingle and the thrill

Of a prayer so strong , yet mute.

I no longer fear the fires of Hell

But this I do  believe

Heaven is  in the here and now

It’s there in the way we live.