that break my heart.
Like Only Catholics go to Heaven.
The infidels
must have known this
when they hired me to babysit.
When I lean into his crib,
he does not wake--he sleeps
as if
his soul were cherished and
secure.
Then I see his small fists knocking
on heaven's gate,
the teddy bear backpack stuffed
with PJ’s, the toy giraffe
hanging low
on his back.
I hear the Angel Gabriel, hard-nosed,
Sorry, you're not welcome here.
It’s too much for a girl of 10.
And so
the small chapel of her soul
crumbles--the heavy stones
fall off her shoulders
to the earth
below her boots.
