As It Is

(a poem)

Did his soul ascend to heaven?
And what about the mother
who suckled him at her breast
before drowning in the sea?
And the souls of
Emmett
and Medgar;
Carole,
Cynthia,
and Addie Maye;
James Earl,
Andrew,
and Michael Henry;
Trayvon
and Tamir;
Sandra
and Eric;
Matthew
and
Chyna;
Srinivas
and
Razan?
Is there room
for such as these
behind the golden gates,
or is heaven
merely a reflection of
our unjust earthly existence
counting the privileged in
and all others out -
in heaven
as it is on earth?
Nah.
Let us live
into the hope
that the opposite
is true
where all souls
of all hues,
all ethnicities,
all creeds,
all identities,
all orientations,
are fully welcome
on earth
as it is in heaven.