Hell's Great Pain

It's not the molten lake of fire ,
The dungeons dark and damp .
The heaving mass of mournful souls
Upon whom we might tramp .

That makes of Hell the savage place
We dare not ever go .
And makes us tread the narrow path
To Heaven , don't you know .

No , these are but the manifest
Of symbols we might use ,
To give our little children
Advice on which to choose .

The savage pain endured in Hell
Is yet more true and real ,
If you should ever feel the love
That Heaven can reveal .

I know this for I ventured there
For oh so brief a time .
And felt the love of God's embrace ,
His glory so sublime .

It came to me in such a dream
As I cannot explain .
And satisfied my mortal soul
So much , I felt no pain .

The lesson that I learned from this
Came after I awoke ,
And realized I lived again
Encoiled in mortal yoke .

So this , in truth , is all we need
To know of Hell's great pain .
The knowledge of the love we'll lose
And never know again .

GREENWOLFE 1962

Garden Gate

Today I passed your garden gate ,
It rattled to and fro .
I don't remember it this way ,
The gate I used to know .

Today I touched your garden gate ,
The crumbling wood and rust .
How could I replace them now ,
Its pieces turned to dust ?

Today I breached your garden gate
As I had done before .
I wondered if you might be there ,
Tilling earth once more .

Today I closed your garden gate
Behind me once again .
I walked along your garden path
The way I did back then .

Today beyond your garden gate
Where I shall wait for now ;
They say you won't , but I just know ,
You must return somehow .

Today beyond your garden gate
Where I've shed many tears ;
They all expect to see me there ,
The place I've come for years .

Today beyond your garden gate
I felt you there somehow .
Twas then I came , at last to peace .
A place unknown till now .

For just beyond your garden gate
My destiny was cast .
A place from where no man returns .
I found you there at last .

GREENWOLFE 1962