Photography © Chad Parenteau

 

Hegseth’s poetic press conference

Some say truth will set you free
Not us

It’s from bombs on girls’ primary schools
that liberty bears fruit
For these young girls were
born into a country that did not fall to its knees,
as did its intrepid neighbors with oil
deals, housing our military bases and never doubting Israel

The hospitals and apartment blocks that we hit,
as well as your supreme leader,
and already over one thousand lights snuffed,
will bring the rapture

And then, you, we, all of us,
who have opened our hearts to the Gospel,
will walk through hellfire when Judgment Day comes,
all the way to the Promised Land

 

Peter F. Crowley is a prolific writer from the Boston area whose work spans short fiction, op-eds, poetry, and academic essays. His writing has appeared in publications such as Pif Magazine, New Verse News, Flash Fiction Magazine, Common Dreams, The Galway Review, Digging Through the Fat, and The Opiate. He was a finalist in both the short story and poetry categories of Adelaide’s Award Anthologies. He is the author of two poetry collections, Those Who Hold Up the Earth and Empire’s End, as well as a short fiction collection, That Night and Other Stories.

Chad Parenteau is Associate Editor of Oddball Magazine.