Becoming an angel (revised)

First, you put down your pistol
and untie the wooly creature.

She has blood in her eyes.
You wipe her clean and give her

a look of glass and fire.
She will not forget your mercy.

Then you must burn all your books.
They are full of hate and necessity.

You are too much in the air to be filled
with the poison of philosophers.

When this has been done,
bathe in an elixir made of baby's breath

and milk.
Make sure everything leaves you

in a last gasp
of normalcy.

When you are clean,
call your mother.

Tell her you walk on water
and no longer need her to hold you

to the earth.
Tell your friends you are spirit

and memory.
Tell them if they call your name

you will not respond.
Tell them you are beyond the blue.

When they leave
and you are alone -

take the pistol
and look into the fragile Heaven.