For Father Joe Drohan, d. April 22, 2005
Sometimes in my dreams,
I am standing at the gates of Heaven
with Father Joe. His mother
and brothers and sisters are on
the other side, waiting
for him, like actors a play.
Joe is holding a rosary in one hand,
and a brown pair of shoes in the other
to show his mother he did not forget.
Someone is standing next to her.
who looks exactly like Joe,
but dimmer.
Joe’s eyes
are shining. He is
beginning to cross over.
He tells me when he does, the one
who looks like him will become brighter,
and then the two of them
will become one person, forever, again.
He says: I know you think
I’m imagining all this,
but I’m not imagining anything.
All of this is real. Love makes it real.
Love makes everything real.
Everything. Even this.
You have to change your eyes.