“Jesus, you’re the best…” he said.
His open collar showed his chest
was tan even in December.
“We just want to thank you, Lord,
for taking Joe to be with you.
We’ll miss him, but we know it’s best
for him to be in heaven.”
We sang Amazing Grace, but Joe,
it seemed, had clawed his way up high
through generous gifts to the church,
by staying married, raising kids,
and praying often. He would reach
the Golden Gates, receive the pie
in the sky. Not so, you and I.
– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, Dec. 10, 2014
Views from the Edge 
For Mr. Stewart; One chapter in a novel I’m writing may depict a funeral in a megachurch. Texas, pentecostal, speaking in tongue’s. Do megachurches really do funerals? If so, would a celebrity pastor conduct the funeral if the deceased wasn’t a big donor or famous? Would it be held in a big arena or in some smaller chapel in the building? I loved the poem, both stye and subject. But it all unfolds out of the main idea so I have no way of knowing if it’s based on experience. If you know more about this than I do and you’d care to help I can be reached at phillipmarguiles@gmail.com
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