Scent of Angels

 The scent of angels was in my room as I slept last night.
They came to escort me into the deep.
We wafted our way to the ocean.
The waves were churning as we entered.

And we were...
Sinking
Down
Sinking
Down
Sinking
Sinking down.

The water warm as amniotic fluid.
The colours, indescribable.
The myriad life forms greeted us as we were...
Sinking
Down
Sinking
Down
Sinking
Sinking down.

I remembered things that had been lost in time.
There were moments that...
hurt and
moments that healed.
Seeing the faces of those who'd gone before,
I wept, yet felt joy.

And we were still...
Sinking
Down
Sinking
Down
Sinking
Sinking down.
Into...
The trench of Mariana.
We could go no deeper.
The city there was illuminated from within.
We entered the globe that surrounded,
and met the beings who lived there.
The angels laughed and larked about.
The air was fresh and intoxicating.
We spoke of many things.

And then, it was time to return.
The angels carried my soul upward,
Rising up.
Rising.
Upward.
Rising and rising.
Rising upward.

I woke in my bed,
as the sun rose.
The echoes of angel laughter all around.
They said they'd come again.
The memory elated my mind.

The ocean depths were like a space visit.
There's hidden life in the secret abyss.

©Ellen Pepper 2026

Running Out of Road

 And I told him that I'm running out of road.
He asked if I was close to driving over the cliff.
I laughed and pushed harder on the gas pedal.
He squealed in terror, the big, strong man.

We were heading down toward the edge of eternity,
on the way to an old new life...
 or the end of this one.
I felt devil-may-care but he was uncertain.

The dust on the road was thick and sandy.
Tumbleweeds taunting as they flirt with the road.
Rhapsody in Blue filling the car.
He'd never heard it... isn't sure  it's road trip music.

If it wasn't for the revelation of the secret,
we'd still be stuck in the morass of expectations.
Finding the truth about betrayal has
set us free.

And we drove and drove...
looking for redemption.
Looking for the place where truth
always matters.

Looking for someone to trust.
Looking for a love that persists.
Looking for the home we never found.
Looking for a dream to come true.

He says we should take Route 66.
And stay at the Hotel California.
I fear that his mind has been broken.
Some folks can't take heart ache.

And we drove and drove...
looking for redemption.

The edge of the cliff is near now.
Do we go out like Thelma and Louise?
The big guy is not Brad Pitt,
neither is he dead.

I bring the car up to the brink,
and ask...Are you ready to meet your Maker?
The big guy cries and doesn't want to die.
Sighing, I U turn and
drive to the nearest town to drop him off.

I'll return to the precipice alone.
Because...
I drive and drive...
looking for redemption.

I drive and drive...
looking for redemption.

 I'm still looking.

 

 ©Ellen Pepper 2026

 

Lemony Yellow Sunlight

 A humid Tuesday in July.
Skin already sticky.
Clouds threatening an imminent storm.
A queen with her kitten eating kibble near a parked car.
The other ferals in wait at their usual feeding spot.

The a/c unit compressor is humming to beat the band.
A strange brother sleeping in his flannel shirt.
The house cat hiding from thunder in the closet.
Butterflies swooping and dancing in air.
Crows cawing. A rooster crowing.
These are a few of the summery things.

Last night's dream still echoes in the mind.
A different time and place with
an entire life being lived.
So many known people
who've never been met
in my "real life", my "awake" life.

The lemon-yellow sunlight in the dream's scene.
A cafe by the ocean. Tang of salt water in the air.
Gaily dressed party people boozing away the afternoon.
Laughter and music all around.
The hypnotic waves start to build -
someone says it's  a storm front.

A woman named Angela turns to me to say that
she's always loved this place.
She can't imagine spending January anywhere else.
I wonder where we are that winter feels so warm.

I realize that I'm dreaming.
And I'm hot.
I wake up to my "real"  life.
The dream still haunts though nothing really happened there.

It's a humid Tuesday in July.
Skin already sticky. Clothes clinging.
Clouds threatening an imminent storm.
The mood of the dream has set the tone of the day...
my mind holds the image of sunlight,
while dark clouds roll in from the west.

 ©Ellen Pepper 2026

Quo vadis?

 Quo vadis?
Where are you going?
Are you climbing a pine-treed mountain path,
searching for the God of your youth?

Are you walking on a busy city street,
where you heed the wisdom of the elder
 who lives outside the bakery?

Maybe you're strolling the brazenly green lawn
where the idle rich live.

Quo vadis, my friend? Quo?

I see you standing at the precipice of
understanding grace and favor -
grace being the unearned favor of your God.

You're preparing to move into a new dimension.
You'll tackle new challenges.
You'll stride, head held high,
while navigating changed standards.

 Quo vadis, my friend? Quo?

Can you sense the alteration of the air?
This is unfamiliar, yet welcoming.
You've devised a plan for the rest of your life.
Now, where will it take you?

Is there a Plan B lest the direction be askew?
Are you ready for the heady change?
Choosing the high road or low will matter.
Be certain of your intentions.

You've waited all your life for this moment.
Living in eternal readiness will benefit you now.
Every step you take brings you closer.
Your happiest dreams will come true.

Quo vadis, my friend? Quo?
Quo vadis, my friend?

 ©Ellen Pepper 2026

WAITING, ALWAYS

 I've spent my lifetime waiting.
Waiting to be born.
Waiting to learn to read.
Waiting to go to school.

Waiting for school days to end.
Waiting for summer vacation.
Waiting to graduate.
Waiting for a job offer.

Waiting for friends to come and go.
Waiting for friend's babies to be born.
Waiting while friends abandon spouses.

Waiting to pick up the pieces of broken hearts.

Waiting for audition results.
Waiting to move to Manhattan.
Waiting to walk onstage.
Waiting for my cue to skidoo.

Waiting for trains, planes, buses and cars.
Waiting to pass through airport security.
Waiting for a ride while hitch-hiking out west.
Waiting to escape a serial killer.

Waiting to move to new homes.
Waiting for an unwanted wedding.
Waiting for the expected divorce decree.
Waiting for freedom after bondage.

Waiting for letters that never came.
Waiting to be finally understood.
Waiting to tell the true story of a life.
Waiting to give a damn.

Waiting in doctor's offices.
Waiting on government action.
Waiting for payments to arrive.
Waiting for parcel delivery.

Waiting for resolution of an untenable situation.
Waiting for humanity to grow up.
Waiting for loving kindness to return.

Always waiting.
Interminable waiting. A lifetime of waiting.
And one day, waiting for a merciful death.
Waiting for a peaceful termination.

Waiting, always waiting.

 ©Ellen Pepper 2026