Ah, those pearly gates:
when you stand in the scanner,
hands forming a triangle over your head,
St. Peter won't be checking
for circumcision,
a membership card,
or any belief in particular,
but signs of being-like-Christ:
kindness,
justice,
and a heart so broken,
there's room enough to drive a whole tuckload of smuggled misfits
right through the middle…

you know,
misfits like you and me.

Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.