Hell

(A Part of Heaven Overlooked by Ford Madox Hueffer.)

Heaven and Hell are together.

As we walk home on a street in Heaven, in the evening,

Those in Hell will stalk past us

(For Hell is a condition, not a place)

And when we return at dawn will we still see them—

Men bearing infants born dead,

Kissing the inert purple cheeks;

(For the kiss will be the one punishment of Hell);

Men and women holding the severed heads of those they once spat on.

Before a king kissing the head of his queen will we stop,

To give him a kind word;

Or before an anarchist clasping the head of the king;

Or before a woman carrying the head of the anarchist—

Each unaware of the other’s presence.

We will see them walking up and down the streets of Heaven

For countless years,

Till the day when the heads will disappear,

And the head-bearers build homes next to our own.

Lovers married a thousand years in Heaven

And in that which lies beyond Heaven

(For Heaven is but the first rest of a thirstless journey)

Know not each other as we do.

Knowledge is born of a second:

We had our slim second,

And it will live for millions of years.

Only when it reaches the suburbs of Eternity, will it die.