The Kingdom of Heaven

The Kingdom of Heaven

Amanda Ryan

I’ve found, does not lie itself down
in the way, like a lamp waiting to grant wishes,
or a magic carpet, obeissent to your step.

Nor does it draw with straight lines
sure to be discovered at one point or another,
like the hypotenuse of a right triangle.

It’s more like the place you don’t think to look
for your car keys because you are too busy
looking in the spots someone else might have

dropped them, certain they—your husband,
the kids—are the culprits for what is lost until
like a slap upside the head you behold them
buried in your purse.

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Amanda Ryan
Poet & Homemaker

Amanda’s poetry has appeared in Curator Magazine, The Christian Century, Mezzo Cammin, and Grand Little Things.

Photography by Khalil Musa