Angels...in disguise

Those of you that have followed my blog for a while, know that one of my favorite little poets is Mattie Stepanek.

Matthew "Mattie" Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek (July 17, 1990 – June 22, 2004) was an American poet and advocate. At the age of 3, Stepanek started to write poetry to cope with the death of his older brother. He wrote that a 'Heartsong' is a person's special gift to be shared with others... or a person's 'reason for being.'

I don't know what conjured up thoughts of angels yesterday, but I had the subject on my mind all day.

From the bookshelf, I pulled all of Mattie's books off and searched out what he had to say about angels. The following poem is kind of a sad one, but Mattie was a very profound thinker for a child.... the gift that God gave him.

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About Angels

Do you know what Angels wear?
They wear
Angel-halos and Angel-wings, and
Angel-dresses and Angel-shirts under them, and
Angel-underwear and Angel-shoes and Angel-socks, and
On their heads
They wear
Angel hair --
Except if they don't have any hair.
Some children and grown-ups
Don't have any hair because they
Have to take medicine that makes it fall out.
And sometimes,
The medicine doesn't make them all better,
And they die.
And they don't have any Angel-hair,
So do you know what God does then?
He gives them an
Angel-wig.
And that's what Angels wear.

Mattie J.T. Stepanek
January, 1995

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Now, on a lighter note, following are thoughts about angels from other young children....those that aren't quite as profound thinkers as Mattie but ones that make you want to say "out of the mouths of babes". There is absolutely nothing like the reasoning that children bring forth.

CHILDREN'S VIEWS ON ANGELS
"It's not easy to become an angel! First, you die.. Then you go to heaven, then there's still the flight training to go through. And then you got to agree to wear those angel clothes." --Matthew, 9

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"I only know the names of two angels: Hark and Harold." --Gregory, 5

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"Everybody's got it all wrong. Angels don't wear halos anymore. I forget why, but scientists know all about it now." --Olive, 9

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"Angels work for God and watch over kids when God has to go do something else." --Mitchell, 7

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"My guardian angel helps me with math, but he's not much good for science." --Henry, 8

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"Angels don't eat, but they drink milk from holy cows." --Scooter , 6

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"Angels talk all the way while they're flying you up to heaven. The basic message is where you went wrong before you got dead." --Daniel, 7

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"When an angel gets mad, he takes a deep breath and counts to ten, and when he lets out his breath, somewhere there's a tornado." --Regan, 5

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"Angels have a lot to do and they keep very busy. If you lose a tooth, an angel comes in through your window and leaves money under your pillow. Then when it gets cold, angels go north for the winter. --Sara, 6

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"Angels live in cloud houses made by God and his son, who's a very good carpenter." --Jared , 8

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"All angels are girls because they gotta wear dresses and boys didn't go for it." --Antonia, 9

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"Some of the angels are in charge of helping heal sick animals and pets. And if they don't make the animals get better, they help the kid get over it." --Vicki, 8

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"What I don't get about angels is why, when someone is in love, they shoot arrows at them." --Sarah, 7
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In_spired's thoughts about children...."they're angels in disguise".