At the Gate: A Poem by David NeSmith
This was the first time on the Heart-Strong Adventure that I shared someone else’s words instead of my own. David NeSmith wrote a poem that stopped me. It asked one of the questions at the heart of this entire exploration: who deserves love?
The poem centers on a gate. And the condition for entry is simple: all may enter, but only if none are left behind. Not some. Not the deserving. Not the people who look like us or believe what we believe. Everyone. Or no one.
That condition is radical. It cuts against every system I can think of. Every institution that sorts people into categories of worthy and unworthy. Every border. Every wall. Every policy that says you qualify or you don’t.
David’s poem speaks to grace and forgiveness in a way that feels earned, not sentimental. It doesn’t shy away from the difficulty of universal belonging. It sits in the tension between what we believe and how we actually behave.
I introduced the poem with a brief note honoring David’s vulnerability in writing it. Then I let the words speak for themselves. Because some things don’t need commentary. They need space.
The reader response was strong. It connected to the core question of this adventure: what happens when we stop deciding who deserves love? That question gets harder the closer it gets to the people and situations we find most difficult. David’s poem doesn’t flinch from that difficulty. It walks straight through it.
Read the full piece on Substack
Learn more about the adventure at www.heart-strong.org
