Death the shoebox I'm not going to open

Heaven.  The word is so much better than Death.

So instead of Dying,

I'm going to heaven.

because Heaven is worth it.  Heaven is worth life and Life is worth dying.

Life 
is incredible.
look at me, I'm sitting here and I'm typing

and words are coming from my heart and they're going through my brain and out of my fingers

and into your eyes and then through your brain and into your heart

Ladies and Gentlemen, this has been Life. Can we get a round of applause? a standing ovation? encore!

I've never met a corpse that can do that.

And death, Mr. Grim Reaper I'm sorry people call you that.  If you were honest and you really cradled the Book Thief and her loves when they passed I wish they wouldn't call you Grim; that's a pretty rough task and thank you for cradling them and for bringing Johnny's spirit home, and Grandpa's, and Devin's, and Randy's. and Hunter's.

Thank you for taking us to heaven.

Heaven, where our only hurts will be regrets.  so live without them.
Heaven's a place where we won't hurt because once the pain leaves we'll be left with peace.

In heaven poetry is what will come from our mouths and small talk will be a legend and we'll speak in piano concertos and poetry slams and painting. Because small talk is not the language of Heaven.  Poetry is. 

death is a shoebox. You never know what you'll find, but it always smells foul.
But Life?  life isn't silk and its not satin but I've never seen life like the Mariana Trench, and there's always an up for the deep and there's a nightlight for every dark room and there's morning for the bad dreams, and life is incredible because even though our language isn't quite poetry, we're learning.  We're good at small talk but Piano concertos can flow off the tongue too, and painting comes with time and poetry may be a second language but some of us can speak without an accent and the rest of us are trying.  

So while you're holding up the world think about building the Great Wall of China.  Think about Abraham Lincoln and think about your mom who hurt for you and think about what you're doing RIGHT NOW, TODAY, and think Does It Matter? and I hope the answer is yes because as long as you're alive that's the only right answer and it matters and you matter and the oxygen coming in and out and in your blood matters, and everything that has ever hurt matters because its made you that much stronger.  

If I could grow tall and canopy-green and if I could rain life down on you all, to make you grow in smiles,  I would.  But I'm sorry because I've been too busy looking for poetic words that aren't mine.  

And I'm sorry because the word is Death.  

and people have been spelling it wrong for years.
c-o-m-i-n-g-h-o-m-e. death.

Life is just Heaven's absent student, and maybe she's in denial but Heavenschool is a place where every teacher is a season and air is sweet like childhood and our assignments are laughter and our lessons start never because they're just living. because Life was in heaven yesterday and she's skipping out today but she'll be back tomorrow.  Her classmates are waiting and her seat is saved.

Because Life the snowcone sometimes runs out of flavor and you can either pay the extra 50 cents or finish a snowie that tastes like only $2.50 of flavor instead of $3.00.  But it's life, and whether yours has $2.50 or $3 the first bite always tastes the same.  And the flavor comes from the same jar.  And its all just as sweet.

My shoes are tattered and torn but that doesn't change the $10 I paid for them, or the use I got out of them, and whether your life is torn or touched-up or neither someone's already paid for you and you've had some use, and you're still alive.

please, 
love golden
stay golden.

everett Mills.