What Rough Beast | Poem for February 7, 2020

Chad Parenteau
Resistance Tankas, Reel 11

Iowa Caucus Jesus Tanka

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Iowa Caucus Jesus
gives in record time
last supper and ascension!
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Pete Buttigieg Jesus Tanka

Glory be on high
for Pete Buttigieg Jesus
has returned to us!
But lo, when did he ascend,
and when was he ever here?!?

Rush Limbaugh Jesus Tanka

Rush Limbaugh Jesus
fights through stigmata in throat,
says it’s easier
to enter Heaven with gold
than with a poor man’s thorn hat.

John Bolton Jesus Tanka, Take Two

John Bolton Jesus
possesses secret tablets
that will show the truth
to everyone at long last.
They are up for pre-order.

Chad Parenteau is the author of Patron Emeritus (FootHills Publishing, 2013). His work has appeared in Tell-Tale InklingsQueen Mob’s Tea HouseThe Skinny Poetry JournalIbbetson Street, and Wilderness House Literary Review. He serves as associate editor of Oddball Magazine. His second full-length collection, The Collapsed Bookshelf, is forthcoming.

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