At the Gate

A Poem by David NeSmith

This week I’m doing something I’ve never done before. I’m sharing someone else’s words.

A few weeks ago, my wife Becca and I were visiting friends in Hillsborough, North Carolina. David NeSmith is the husband of one of Becca’s close friends from high school. He’s a father, a programmer, and a musician. He plays in a band called Bats & Mice, which started in Richmond, Virginia, out of the post-hardcore scene there. If you’re into indie rock, check them out.

One night at dinner, we got into the kind of conversation that only happens when you’re not trying to have it. We were talking about Heart-Strong. About religion and spirituality.

And then Dave mentioned he’d recently written a poem. About dying. About showing up at heaven’s gate. A vision he had about what happens when you get there.

I don’t think Dave would have shared it with many people. Maybe not anyone. He’s just not the kind of guy who puts himself out there like that. He’s quiet about the things that matter most to him.

So, when I asked if I could share it through Heart-Strong, and he said yes, I felt something I can only describe as honored.

Because here’s the thing. This poem is about everything I’ve been exploring this year. Love and fear. Who belongs and who doesn’t. What happens when we stop arguing about who deserves grace and start offering it to everyone. Including the people we think deserve it least.

I won’t say more. Dave’s words don’t need my setup. They speak for themselves.

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“At the Gate” by David NeSmith

I died the other day
And made it to heaven’s gate.
Quite a lot of folks were gathered
Just a bunch of ghosts in wait.

I saw the gate was locked
And on it was this sign:
ALL MAY ENTER ONLY
IF NONE
ARE LEFT BEHIND

Well, that didn’t seem to sit well
With almost everyone.
Religious folks were yelling
That their religion was the one.

This one and that one was
Shouting as loud as they could
How they deserved heaven
And most no one else should.

A being appeared for just a flash
Above the holy door
And said everyone or no one.
Not one less. And no more.

To some he looked like Peter
To others he gave a nod
To be a form of this or that
Messenger of God.

So many claimed they were right
As many faces turned to red.
They tried to kill each other in a fight
But it didn’t work since we were dead.

Some pleaded for the babies
Certainly, they were free from sin.
But others yelled they weren’t baptized
So, they shouldn’t be let in.

For millennia they argued
About who should be allowed.
And sometimes they got close
But along came objections loud.

One race hated this one
One religion wasn’t true.
One was evil and one was saintly
I can’t remember who was who.

Some yelled, what about Hitler
Certainly, he is the worst!
But Hitler and his friends yelled
Back just as loud, curse after curse.

So many eons passed
It could have been trillions or more
Arguing and yelling
More than ever before.

But at one day when it was strangely quiet
Most too tired to yell
Everyone dejected from what was surely hell.

A song started
That was music to our ears
It was started by the youngest
Those who lived the fewest years.

They sang of forgiveness.
They sang of letting go.
They sang of hearts with stillness
Of letting all love flow.

Things started to change
I heard conversations of understanding.
People listening and talking
Instead of just demanding.

Even Hitler!
He knelt before the millions
Whose lives he stole away.
And listened to their stories
For a trillion silent days.

He begged for forgiveness
For all that had been lost.
Finally, all that caused such pain
Could understand such cost.

Every despot kneeled
Every tyrant did sing and
Every person forgave each
Other for every little thing.

Once everyone was singing
Of love and hope and care
No one looked for heaven
Because we were already there.

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I’ve read this poem a dozen times now. Every time, I land on the same line.

ALL MAY ENTER ONLY
IF NONE
ARE LEFT BEHIND

That’s the question I keep coming back to on this Adventure. Not who deserves love. But what happens when we stop trying to decide?

If this stirred something in you, I invite you to sit with it. And if someone comes to mind, share it with them.