The Lord’s Work

by Peter F. Crowley / November 22nd, 2020

And sayeth the Lord, pay this shadow
next to nothing
Beekeepers will ensure that they
come to work, flooding abodes
with honeybees to chase the reluctant
to bloodless office

And sayeth the Lord, make this
shadow work harder and harder.
Loyal oxen serving their master
underscores industry, which God much liketh,
and may well prove predestination

And on the Seventh night,
God cooled his weary feet
in a lake east of river Jordan.
From the star-swallowed lake,
emerged a 19th century railroad magnate,
who walked towards the horizon
then paused, smiled sheepishly
and turned to God, waving knowingly.
The Lord grinned back,
giving a thumbs-up

As a prolific author from the Boston area, Peter F. Crowley writes in various forms, including short fiction, op-eds, poetry and academic essays. In 2020, his poetry book Those Who Hold Up the Earth was published by Kelsay Books and received impressive reviews by Kirkus Review, the New Age and two local Boston-area newspapers. His writing can be found in Middle East Monitor, Znet, 34th Parallel, Pif Magazine, Galway Review, Digging the Fat, Adelaide’s Short Story and Poetry Award anthologies (finalist in both) and The Opiate. His books That Night and Other Stories (CAAB Publishing) and Empire’s End (Alien Buddha Press) were released during the week of Friday the 13th in October 2023. Read other articles by Peter F..

This article was posted on Sunday, November 22nd, 2020 at 8:02am and is filed under Poetry.