2010 Wyoming Writers Contest Winner - FREE VERSE

Change of Venue

by  Joe Greig

When the Reverend Smith had his heart episode
he was transported to heaven in a fiery chariot
attended by angels, their reassuring heralding song
pitched ever higher until it sounded more like
wailing, or so he later said when he talked about
his near death experience. He loved to hear himself,
and reveled in the look of shock on the faces of
parishioners unprepared for such a sacrilegious ending.
Yes, God had sent him back to testify, let the people
know just what the end was like, or might not be.
The angels were dressed in white with sweeping
wings providing locomotion toward the never
dimming light of God’s celestial throne; a gigantic
smiling Jesus hovering above with out-stretched
arms beckoning him to come. Reaching out to grasp
the nail-scarred hands, he was shoved away by angels
bustling here and there, lifting him up and laying
him down, restraining his flailing arms, their white
robes obstructing his view and making him angry.
The vision faded in and out, from heaven to earth,
then focused on a female face, a uniform, and a
glaring light above that hurt his eyes. “Turn that
damn thing off. Where in the Hell am I; where’s Jesus?”
“You’re in the emergency room,” the cranky angel
smirked. “Jesus is in heaven. It’s a good thing
the paramedics intercepted you and got you here
in time. You seem to know where you were headed.”