Heaven's Gate

The preacher made a passing reference
to heaven’s gate

and I know that I should have been
paying close attention

to the deeper theological or textual
points being made

but I couldn’t 

because I couldn’t get past 

that phrase of heaven’s gate or

out of the reverie that led me to
notice 

that we never talk about heaven’s
drawbridge

or heaven’s razor wire

or heaven’s electric fence 

or heaven’s heavily patrolled walls

or heaven’s snipered turrets. 

No, it’s just plain old heaven’s gate.

The sort of thing that anyone might
push open

with whatever meek strength is left
and,

hearing the friendly creak,

take those small, weak steps

that lead

into paradise.