No Evidence
He stands at the Gate.
Perfect life behind him.
Perfect eternity ahead.
No scars.
No scratches.
Not even a blemish.
Skin smooth
as polished stone.
His hands bear no witness to sacrifice.
His knees bear no witness to struggle.
His heart bears no witness to pain.
The Gate opens
just a crack.
The eyes that fashioned him
search
his hands,
his knees,
his heart.
Smooth,
unmarked…
Empty.
Was there nothing
worth fighting for?
Vickie R. Shannon, MD is a retired Professor of Pulmonary Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she practiced academic medicine for more than three decades. Her poetry explores faith, identity, suffering, compassion, and hope through the lens of ordinary human experience. She is also the author of a middle-grade novel and writes from the conviction that stories and poems can illuminate both the visible and the unseen. She lives in Texas.
