Thirty Pieces
the man in midnight colored cassock murmurs
God’s work is done
thirty pieces jingling
he offers a thousand hosannas
to the prophet
a little foul-mouthed and avaricious, but a vessel still
the cycle begins as designed
birth to death, justice for the most vulnerable
the least, everyone in God’s image
meanwhile, a nascent mother
wipes away splattered Coke and screams
hurry it up, faster, why’s the fucking machine broken
love dropped through the grill
and another ravages
a bruised beige truck that smells of exhaust and Camels
looking for quarters beneath torn seams
it’s not enough to drive three hundred miles
the man in the cassock clickety-clacks up steps
offering another hosanna
even as a prophet proclaims the Gospel of Infidelity
and divorces another wife—leaving lingering stains
the man in the cassock averts his gaze
all are sinners, all are sinners
while he blesses a child in a powerless apartment
coins clattering and crying
About the Poem
The poem was inspired by the Supreme Court leak and is meant to explore the hypocrisy of the so-called “pro-life” movement and the Faustian bargains made by persons of faith.
About the Author
Yash Seyedbagheri is a graduate of Colorado State University’s MFA program in fiction. His stories, “Soon,” “How To Be A Good Episcopalian,” “Tales From A Communion Line,” and “Community Time” were nominated for Pushcarts. Yash’s work has been published in The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts, Write City Magazine, and Ariel Chart, among others.