Reality Check by Emma Michaels

can I be honest sometimes
I cannot stomach the reality of
heaven & eternity & forever actually meaning
forever

but you (faithful you) have given me a handle to hold (to
cling to, white knuckles and all) when I
sit in occasional terror of the place that is
paradise you shared with me

a dream you had just sliced a piece from the
peace pie your subconscious whipped up
slid it onto a plate and fed
me some of your own relief and there was somehow
more than enough for two

it was that dream where life—us, here,
now—was the dream it was
a fond and hazy memory that made you
feel something real though

it was never fully real

"the real part comes

next" you tell me in-between bites & just like that

I am no longer a captive
of eternity but
captivated with
a clean plate before me

Emma Michael is a wife, mother, and oft-stumbling sheep kept securely by The Great Shepherd. Writing and reading poetry has been one of her lifelong joys, and she is grateful to Calla Press for the opportunity to share some of her words with you, to the glory of God.