View from Heaven

An angel standing on a cloud
looks out upon the Earth

"Why are the people crying?"

he asks the Lord
and He replied with nothing more than a subtle sigh
another angel, passing by
with a question in mind

"Why can't we show them what happens to the dead?"

but the Lord simply nods with a pious smile

finally, a third angel, the Angel of Death, enters with a question,
as he adds another name to his list:

"This man was still quite young,
and his death was not so planned."

He took his life by his own hands.

"Now," Death continued, "I ask you, Lord, can he still be saved?"

the first angel speaks again, asking, "How do I assure his loved ones, if he be damned?"

the Lord now turned to the angels in earnest,
He replies with a gesture to the soul standing at His Left

a soul who made his case for Heaven
from Hell

then the first angel asked again:

"What shall we tell the people?"

the second angel asks as well:

"How do we console those who grieve?"

thus the Lord replied with laughter and applause
the soul on His Right, who knew him best, translated:

"His quirky sense of humor...and something else."

the angels want to know:

"What?"

the Lord simply shrugs

and the soul on His Left sighs
holding onto a memory in a porcelain tear
cried for the lost souls
his brothers
his friends
fellow disciples
souls like him.