Box Braids Triolet 
for Destiny Thompkins

A look-alike for Beyoncé was working at the mall,
when Bossman said that urban hair was not the style preferred
for hawking t-shirts, and he sent her home. 
You won’t find the next Beyoncé working at the mall,
although the Muzak system plays records by the star  
and stores will gladly sell CDs of “Destiny’s Child” there.
Bossman can’t object to that – since he got fired. The sales clerk? 
She has better things to do, than working at the mall. 




Crown Act Villanelle 
for wrestler Andrew Johnson 

The tangle of emotions selfishness creates
knots tightly in a heart, resists a comb.
Sometimes a minute is all it takes

to damage a life. What’s fragile quickly breaks,
slowly mends. Social bonds can be hair-thin, and left alone,
the tangled net of circumstances selfishness creates

roots deeply in a soul; it makes
a passing moment permanent. Yet to atone 
sometimes one minute is all it takes,

one grievance acknowledged. One voice forsakes
its customary habits, refuses to become
entangled in itself; chooses to cooperate 

instead of to cut. Aim the mind’s sharp rake
inward, where tangled thoughts have grown,
for sometimes a minute is all it takes

to see how slight a disagreement is, to lower ego-stakes,
unclench a fist’s grip, set assumptions down.
To untangle the selfishness that stubbornness creates,
sometimes one minute is all it takes.


 

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Writer’s statement:
These poems are based on real events. As recently as 2019 it was legal throughout the U.S. to deny any person employment or an education solely on the basis of how they wear their hair. Though some organizations have taken a proactive stand, others persist in upholding arbitrary and discriminatory policies that do not reflect modern standards of appearance. Organizers of the CROWN Act are achieving significant progress, but they reported at the end of July 2025 that twenty-two states had yet to finalize action to correct the situation. See https://thecrownact.com   for more information.

K Roberts is a professional non-fiction writer, a published artist, and has served as a first reader for several literary magazines. Recent poetry has appeared in anthologies from Moonstone Arts, Vita Brevis Press, and Querencia.