Back then,
for a few days,
the agency had me working
as a last minute stand-in for St. Peter.

I was disorientated. The clouds were scratchy,
and had a tendency to move, without notice.
As for cherubim, the less said of them, the better.

I just wanted to get through the day, you understand.
The work was more complicated
than you might think –
yes, there was a book,
but it was hard to make sense of the system,
and anyway I was hungry,
and the snack closet was a disaster.

I remember some of the people.
Desperate they were, or calm.
Some made passing comments on the weather.
They could tell, I suspect,
that I was out of my depth.
I wanted to just let them all through,
blithe and ignorant,
but then I wondered,
what then would happen to me? Anyhow, that was a long time ago now.
In my more permanent employment,
sometimes I look out my second story window
and wink at the birds.