.

The Prayer Blanket

—as related to me by my friend Tim Cassar,
who recently survived a brain cancer operation

by Brian Yapko

The paramedics came. They took my friend
To where there was no earthly pain or fear.
Of course, he worried this might be the end—
But Tim could also sense the Lord was near!
He prayed the angels might come forth and guide
The surgeon’s hands, remove what was malign.
And though it’s true he very nearly died,
My friend was spared by God to share this Sign:

Acceptance was the answer. In God’s care
Tim realized all that he could do was pray.
And then he was transported through the air
His body still attached, though far away!
And with the help of cherubim he trod
Into a space which seemed much like a cave—
In fact, the very throne room of our God
Where all are watched from cradle to the grave.

Our Father seemed a gentle, weary man
Whose simple throne was neither tall nor grand—
Yet here He oversees Creation’s plan.
He spoke not to my friend but waved His hand
And gestured for the angels then to move
My friend upon a platform with a bed.
Upon it Tim was cushioned with God’s love
As whispered words of comfort filled his head.

God’s face displayed compassion and deep grief
As thoughts divine were to my friend revealed:
A Great Commission! Tim must share belief
In God and miracles. All will be healed,
All will be well—such thoughts Our Father shared.
He then revealed there will be tribulation.
Despite the pain, believers will be spared
To whom He’ll show His heart of consolation!

Laid gently on his back my friend next met
Our Savior, who from shadows had come forth
In simple garb with words none could forget
As He held up a cloth of untold worth—
It looked to be an old grandmother’s quilt—
But one in which the panels which were there
Were not made up of cloth but rather built
From loved one’s loving hands composed in prayer!

This is the very message that Christ sends:
We all have quilts made up of hope and love
Sewn from the prayers of family and friends
And offered to our Father up above.
The prayers are gathered up like Autumn leaves
And none—not even one—will be ignored,
For love proves faith for each soul who believes
And such pure love is honored by the Lord.

Christ laid this holy quilt upon my friend:
“Your prayer blanket, my beloved son.”
It wasn’t warm, but heavy with a blend
Of Godliness and earthly prayer spun.
It was not warm but very reassuring
Like quilts that one remembers as a child.
It made Tim feel a love that is enduring
Preparing him for words hopeful and mild.

Christ said to him “You’re going to be okay,”
And touched this holy blanket with His hand.
And sooner than the night turns into day
Tim felt a peace he scarce could understand.
His heart began to beat, lungs filled with air
He felt a rush and then came back to life.
His eyes were opened and he saw her there
An angel in the flesh—his loving wife.

He’d made it through this fearsome operation
But felt unworthy of these gifts: Rebirth,
To see God’s face, to feel His consolation
And then come home to loved ones back on Earth!
Tim’s mission now: to share his faith, to kneel
Before the Lord and shout to all who’ll hear:
“Believe me when I tell you Heaven’s real
And that Our Blessed Lord is always near!”

.

.

Brian Yapko is a retired lawyer whose poetry has appeared in over fifty journals.  He is the winner of the 2023 SCP International Poetry Competition. Brian is also the author of several short stories, the science fiction novel El Nuevo Mundo and the gothic archaeological novel  Bleeding Stone.  He lives in Wimauma, Florida.

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6 Responses

  1. Roy Eugene Peterson

    Brian, what a great poem and testimony. I had my own near-death experience, but did not make it to the throne room. I had a heart attack a long time ago. I remember a kindly shadow figure with me under a black arch, and we were approaching a bright yellow light. The shadow figure asked me if I was ready to go with him. I answered, “I am not through with life. I have more to do.” The shadow figure then departed I turned back, and then I woke up. How brilliantly you told his story!

    Reply
  2. Robin Trombino

    Tim’s testimony is indeed a divine blessing. Thank you Brian for dedicating the time and love to listen to and be with Tim. You are phenomenally talented.
    You are an amazingly talented man and a fantastic friend. ✝️❤️ Love Robin

    Reply
  3. jd

    A beautiful poem, Brian, and though your friend’s experience was frightening it was a true blessing, two blessings because your poem is a wonderful witness. I will send it to a friend who has opted out of treatment and is patiently awaiting his parting from this world. Perhaps your poem will help to send him in the right direction.

    Reply
  5. Mark Stellinga

    An extremely moving piece, Brian, and lovingly penning it for a very close friend who’d gone through what Tim did is a wonderful, heart lifting gesture. And Evan’s image is superb – an all around perfect Sunday offering. Thank you –

    Reply
  6. Joseph S. Salemi

    A powerful account of a man’s near-death experience. Since this is a true narrative that was presented to Brian, the facts must govern the language, not vice-versa. The poet’s use of meter and rhyme is his sole creative choice, since the details of the actual event are inviolable. And this is truly worthy of comment — Tim has experienced a “Prayer Blanket,” which functioned in his near-death experience just as a symbol or objective correlative does in fictive poetry. But here that fictive thing is NOT fictive but real. It was a part of Tim’s actual experience.

    This identity of fictive-and-real makes my skin tingle, because it says that what poets labor at here in the world of time to create is transcendently paralleled in the afterlife. The poem is profoundly incarnational, but in a reverse-vision way: what we poets create here on earth is patterned in supernatural reality.

    I don’t know if that makes much sense, but it seems to me that the poem is both frightening and consoling at the same time.

    Reply

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