Pulling Through

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. ––– Matthew 19:24

It would take so much work
(forget the gospel metaphor)
to yank a tattered thread
through a fine-eyed needle
or a battered camel
through the last mirage.

The kingdom of God––
with our unstashable baggage,
our binge-watched
thickened plots.

Squint. In the distance––
the next salvation
smoking a Camel.
Cool. Restrained.
He sets his jaw for a selfie op
catching the eye
of the latest hurricane.

 

_MG_0755Laurie Koensgen’s poems have appeared in Arc Poetry Magazine, Literary Review of Canada, In/Words, Bywords, Barren Magazine and Juniper: A Poetry Journal. She was shortlisted for The Malahat Review’s Far Horizons Award for Poetry 2018 and recently received the Honourable Mention in Arc’s Diana Brebner Prize competition. Laurie is a founding member of Ottawa’s Ruby Tuesdays poetry collective. @EkeLore

Featured photo credit: Amanda Ollinik  @Allunderonemoon