A Heavenly Cloak

My intention was to heal myself
and what happened was so much more profound.
It began with twenty-six versions of me,
me at twenty-six ages,
surrounding my two year old self.
Here is what unfolded:

We surround her in an enormous group hug,
showering her with words of love and affection.
Then an Angel enters the circle
and holds the little girl's hand.
After kneeling and whispering in her ear,
the Angel lifts my two year old self
into her arms and begins to fly.
As they rise, my twenty-six selves
begin to drift up behind the Angel.
Without thinking, we create a spiral
with the Angel at the pinnacle
and with each twining coil
slightly larger than the last.

We are floating up past the towering trees
and hear the susurrus of dancing branches.
Though we know it to be the wind,
it seems as though the trees are excited
about what's about to happen.

After an interminable amount of time,

we begin approaching the cottony clouds

and in another few moments

we arrive in open space;

the stars are visible now

and the Earth is beginning to look
like a big blue ball.

Suddenly, we all stop,
our spiral now folding itself

into concentric circles.

The Angel seems to be calling out
and all at once we are surrounded

by my angels, guides, and ancestors.

They begin what I can only
describe as a ceremony.

They are chanting in an unknown language
and as they sing, an enormous wave
of loving, healing light emerges

from behind each being and washes over
every one of my twenty-six selves
and my two year old self--

still in the arms of the Angel.

As the blinding light approaches the center,
I can just make out yet another
incredible scene of magic.

First the Angel seems to be rubbing, no,
massaging, the light into the tiny child's skin.
Then this Angel grabs the light as if it is solid
and in that very moment, it is.

She wraps me in what quickly

becomes a cloak of light.

Unbeknownst to me,
every other heavenly being
has also been rubbing this light
into each age of me
and in fact, my newborn self
and one year old self as well.

Then they give each version of me
a cloak of incandescent, ethereal light.

A heavenly cloak has now been
bestowed to all of me
and there is a sudden cheering

among the otherworldly beings.
Though we still cannot understand the words,
we know they are celebrating
the courage and resilience of our* soul. 

*our=my