The Parish Parson

Grady McMurtry

circa December 1940

I have found a place to dwell

A quiet, peaceful part of Hell

Far from the heavy trafficked Styx.

My house is built of lava bricks

And in my nurtured garden grow

The black and lustrous Leper rose.

On Furnace Road

Lies my abode

Close by the Temple of the Toad.

And where I live, tho not in state

My life is dignified, sedate.

Within our peaceful neighborhood

Live other martyrs of the Rood

Who served their Master well—and now

May share the promise of their vow,

To live their days

Beneath the gaze

Of Him whose eyes with evil blaze.

And of my cherished work in Hell

I have but only this to tell;

That once a week I don my gown

And catch the midnight train to town

To oversee my Sabbat’s mirth

And represent our Hell on Earth.

A parish priest

For those who feast

And pledge their souls unto the Beast.

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