Yes, there is trash at the Gate to Heaven.
After all, we are each carrying
a lot of garbage with us as we arrive.

    Someone has got to keep The Place clean!

But it’s not those who collected the trash
Earth-side.

They are saints.

They were good friends and family–
unofficial therapists,
lovers and partners,
pastors and priests,
strangers who gifted
kindness and respect–
relieving us of our burdens–
but, most of all,
the actual “garbage men”,
who were anything but–

year after year, they 
carried away our refuse,
without complaint or
thanks

purifying our lives–
saints all