Awakened by an eerie dream

Of weary angels with tattered wings

Their song was woeful and it broke my heart

I asked them if they knew the part

Where alone I’ve gone through hell

The angel closest to me sighed,

and then began to yell.

“Dear child don’t be selfish,

life’s not always about you”

“You think we left you all alone;

yet this simply is not true.”

Another spoke much quieter, she said,

“I beg your pardon,”

“You’ve had the best protecting you,

Hand plucked, from heavens garden.”

My response was if that is true

then please explain,

how each of them were able

The youngest one emerged just then

from underneath my table,

He was a child of maybe ten

I wondered how he died,

With tears falling from his eyes he whispered

“we have tried,”

Timidly he approached me,

a tarnished halo on his head

Then nearly imperceptibly,

the youngest angel said,

“We were beaten quite extensively,

and for a long, long time”

“Our wings you see are tattered now;

and we need our wings to fly,

It’s hard to sit and listen

to all that they’d endured

I realized right then how badly

my vision was obscured.

I can't express how dreary it feels

to have made these angels fall

An elderly angel

shuffled towards me,

with no wings at all.

While looking deep into my soul,

he struggled to convey...

“All the demons were a burden, sure. But they’re all gone today.”

“ Sadly one remains however unconquered,

your worst nemesis... is you,”

We've come bearing hope today

perhaps that you‘d know what to do

I looked upon the wearied group,

I'll fight me on my own,

With hopefully a fraction of the heart my angels have shown

I must not show my fear

“I’m sorry,”

I said loudly,

to be sure they each could hear

I promised them I’d do my best,

though surely they could see...

The beast in there’s enormous

and nastier than me

I realize I am not as strong as the angels and they fell down

Gracefully a cherub girl approached me

wearing a flowing gown

She whispered melodically in my ear

a message sent from above

“All you need is in your heart

the most powerful weapon is love.”

Heidi Shavill

2014