Some Little Thoughts

As I was lying in my bed,
I thought I heard a voice,
Calling my name: ‘Alfred! Alfred!’ 

I thought at first:
It could not be,
Somebody calling me. 

There was no sign
Of man or beast.
I thought: ‘Could it be the deceased?’ 

I pondered long and hard.
‘Should I answer?’ I thought.
‘What has this spirit wrought?’ 

When I stirred,
It called once more:
‘Will you open that mental door?’ 

I answered, slowly:
‘Yes, I’ll comply.
‘But tell me your name before I die.’ 

‘I am a spirit’,
It replied.
‘I rest inside.’ 

I did not understand
That which the spirit said,
So I lay, quietly, thinking on my bed. 

And then I knew
From where the voice came:
I and the voice were the same. 

Man lives in two worlds:
That which he mentally perceives;
And, that which he sees. 

Sometimes these worlds
Merge into one,
Life’s irony begun. 

If one cannot understand
Life’s reality,
Then is all lost for eternity? 

Man must listen
To his soul
Or never be whole. 

When you hear
That spirit call,
Listen, or you will surely fall. 

One lives just once
In this zone:
This planet that we call home. 

If there is a God,
His voice beckons in the night,
When nothing may disturb sound or sight. 

Man oft-times struggles within himself,
In vain attempts to win the game,
When only He dictates the winning name.

So be humble when you wake to hear
Your name, called in the night:
It could be your last breath … and sight.