Fly Away – A Dream by Kathleen J. Shields

The other morning I awoke from a fabulous neat dream.
As I sat there remembering, I wondered what did it mean?

It started in my childhood where I was fed and taught and cared for
And followed me throughout my youth, and then went even more

Now as an adult I lived and worked and lived my life and ate,
Until I reached old age at last and my life was feeling late.

butterfly awayAnd in my dream I fell asleep
on a horribly cold night.
So I wrapped the blanket around me,
and held it really tight.

And as I slept I dreamt about
my life, and all I’d done
And while I was exhausted,
I woke up with the sun.

And as I stood from bed I gazed
upon my new reflection
And saw behind me a colorfully tall
and magnificent confection.

I was wearing a dress so soft,
smoother than fine silk.
And the color was so white on me
it draped like flowing milk.

But then to contrast with so much glory
something stood so wide
And it stretched out strong from on my back
and out from either side.

They held such color of pinks and blues,of purples black and gold ,
All I could do was stare at them, as they hung there quite so bold.

And slowly I turned to look at them, these wings were oh so wild,
And as they began to flutter, I felt like a small child.

Just then my room dissolved away and I took off for the sky.
And these wings they took me far away, so far and oh so high.

Into the clouds I flew right in and through the gates of gold,
And while they stood so shimmery, they didn’t look too bold.

But then they faded into the clouds and left it all oh so white
And as I stood there all alone, I felt that all’s alright.

If I would have been the old me, I would have been quite scared.
If I would have been the old me, I wouldn’t know that He had cared.

And then He flew up next to me, a butterfly like me.
The difference though his wings were red, and there were holes that I could see.

I stared at him the longest time and he stood there while I thought.
It was as if He knew I needed time, us humans need a lot.

I asked if I was dead as I was standing there with Him,
But he smiled at me with love in his eyes, and a sheepish little grin.

“You’ve been reading my book, doing good deeds, you’ve done so much for me
That I wanted you to know me more, in a way that you could see.

And while wings mean more to you than me, I chose to do just this;
Because you’re open to my love, there’s metamorphosis.

So I gave you wings like a butterfly because you’ve lived the way.
So now you have been born again, your chrysalis today.”

I felt quite like a princess, an angel and a star.
I held my head upright, I must have looked bizarre.

But then we walked and talked and shared, and I told him all my dreams,
You’d have thought I could have saved that part, He’d know them all it seems.

But he listened with a smile and didn’t speak a word
And just like that his wings they flapped, and he took off like a bird.

So I followed him into the sky, we held hands while we flew,
And he pointed to great places, and times He knew I knew.

I then asked him, why, I just don’t know, about the food within my dream,
Why every stage throughout my life, I was eating it would seem.

“It symbolizes the intake, that you’ve consumed my word.
And each stage throughout your life, I knew that you had heard.”

And then I landed back at home, and he turned to fly away
And I thanked him for sharing his time, with simple me today.

Then he turned to me and smiled bright, the sun shone through his holes
“Go forth and help the others, you can save their souls.”

I said I would and then I woke and looked outside my window
And that is when I saw it there, and I waved and said hello.

The butterfly fluttered next to me, for a moment, not much longer
And I suddenly I felt His light in me, and it made me feel much stronger.

And I went out into the world with this, a story in my heart:
To tell you all the same as this, we all here have a part.

Life is short no matter how long you’ve been here on the planet,
And you’ve only heaven’s moments, to make sure that you all get it.

Because when He calls, your days are gone, you’ll know that you can’t stay,
And that’s when you get your butterfly wings and then you’ll fly away.

~ Kathleen J. Shields 9/12/2013

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Psalm 90:10

The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.