Neil Hilborn
Our Numbered Days
“The best way to get to heaven is to take it with you.” - Henry Drummond.

“Heaven isn’t a place, it’s a feeling.” - Sierra Demulder.

“Heaven will be no heaven to me if I do not meet my wife there.” - Andrew Jackson.

In many languages, the word for heaven is the same as the word for sky. - Wikipedia.

“I will sing to you all the things I stopped myself from saying while we were alive.” - The author.

“All the way to heaven is heaven.” - John Donne.

“I hope the exit is beautiful and I hope never to return.” - Frida Kahlo.

“The lights dimmed, the singing stopped.” - Louise Erdrich.

When my mother dies, I will lead her like a dog into the space between our walls, which is just like the space between here and always, the king and the kingdom.
I will lead her by the hand if she be blind, and I will wag my tail against her knees if she be afraid, and I will leave her at the gate.

Life on earth will, in some ways, be easier.
I will not have to return her phone calls.
I will not have to feel guilty when I want to hear no more, no more about the divorce.
I won’t cry though I will want to cry though I will hate myself for not crying.

When my mother dies, if I am still alive, I will slouch on my knees as though in prayer, I will write one or two poems, and I will no longer think of her.