“The Course of Holiness” by John Peter Beck
The Course of Holiness
Sunday morning,
he is hard
at worship
in the divine
church of golf.
His most
ardent prayer,
his heavenly gaze
comes down
to this tough putt
on the 7th green.
If this ball goes in,
he’ll be nice
to the neighbors,
drop off
the old mower, toaster
and microwave
to Goodwill,
maybe recycle
and save
the whales.
Next hole,
he’ll dwell
in the cathedral
of the most high,
or in his synagogue
or in her temple,
or in his mosque.
Eighteen holes
is enough to
test the faith
of any man.
Raised in a milltown on Lake Michigan in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, John Peter Beck is a recently retired professor in the labor education program at Michigan State University where he still co-directs a program that focuses on labor history and the culture of the workplace, Our Daily Work/Our Daily Lives. His poetry has been published in a number of journals including The Seattle Review, Another Chicago Magazine, The Louisville Review and Passages North among others.
