HEAVEN’S GATE*

Chimidunchik

is a word that barely

fits in the mouth.

It is oversized 

like the baggage

it describes.

I like valise better.

It is easier to say

and easier to carry.

Maybe with this word

and this satchel

nonchalantly in my grip 

I’ll find my way

to the always-open gate

Thomas Merton talked about:

the gate of heaven [that] 

is everywhere on earth,

that is, if we walk 

our path open-eyed

and with the litest of lightest loads.

*Inspired by Elizabeth Lesser's Broken Open