Not at dusk, when daylight turns the corner,

Neither at the graveside, when the final dump soil lands,

Where heaven begins,

A deep place in open sight,

A secret out in the air,

A longing, a feeling, a tagging of heart,

Snow coming heavy on a lone elder’s lawn,

And you wondering if they are fine,

Food lines stretching miles,

And you calling a wheelchair bound kin to offer to queue,

Where heaven begins,

Is at that mat at the corner,

Tears drenching the wobbling cheeks,

Remonstrating with the unseen for healing,

Extending the plea for all in similar states.

Where Heaven begins,

Taking precautions to shelter the unsheltered,

Assuring a child that love means a wave,

Commitment to welfare of others by denying self,

Where heaven begins,

Is at that same spot where earth lost its sport,

Play receded into delayed seasons,

Party times muted into a foggy future,

Travel shortened its invitation card,

And offices lost their daily murmur and clocking cards,

Where heaven begins,

Is the hearth of discover of rediscovery, 

Family claiming its center piece place,

Rush and gold onto the express highway taking a back seat,

Excess settled for enough and sufficient,

As nature out regrouped to rediscover itself,

Lessons rolled unfazed down the shocked face of humanity,

Seeing how survival is a communal affair,

How differences can fade in an instant,

How largesse and grander are as flimsy as an expensive coat,

For what was thought impossible to imagine,

Happened in real time in months,

Where heaven begins,

Is at the feet of humility,

Where brains and success both draw same air,

Where prince and pauper are same flesh,

A realization that is still building,

Block by block of healthy borne of care,

Making Covid both an enemy and a teacher,

Yes, a scare still challenging us daily,

With mutations that shock science,

Where heaven begins,

Is the shrine of man’s repentant heart,

Where bias and entitlement bend a knee,

To embrace each the other,

for in caring enough for another,

you care enough for you,

that’s where heaven begins.