The Hard Way to Heaven, by William Schmidtkunz

The Hard Way to Heaven, by Lorette C. Luzajic (Canada). 2015. Click image to visit site.

the hard way to heaven

cold night camp
river bridge stolen tent
no drugs

man, i'm alone
nativity star
for every wise man but me

ice fog dawn
coffee at the reluctant shelter
am i humble enough

we have words for each others' ears
in languages too frozen to translate
the thousand mile stare

my walk to heaven
no easy path
but i'm not the first lazarus

i'm not even the only lazarus

William Schmidtkunz
​
​William Schmidtkunz is the author of Home, and Other Poems, about life as a carpenter in Alaska.

This poem was inspired by the chapbook of art and poetry The Luzajic Variations, a collection of poems by Ekphrastic contributor Bill Waters, after the paintings of Lorette C. Luzajic. There are still a few copies of this limited edition gem- click here to view on Etsy.