NO KINGS

These days it’s so hard to hang onto hope—
despair knows how to keep up in the dark.
Yet I do hang onto that one strong rope.

Leaders undo us with tricks and soft-soap
words that kill by degree, leaving no mark.
These days it’s so hard to hang onto hope—

beaten down, we tremble and cannot cope.
We’re like birches that have lost all their bark.
Yet I do hang onto that one strong rope—

at night I look through my green telescope
to enjoy Van Gogh’s stars, not a monarch.
These days it’s so hard to hang onto hope.

The future feels like a lost envelope
or a fire that fades having lost its spark.
Yet I do hang onto that one strong rope

made of rainbows. Kings want me loyal. Nope.
It’s time to begin, find a way, embark.
These days it’s so hard to hang onto hope—
yet I do hang onto that one strong rope.


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Kenneth Pobo (he/him) has a new book called Raylene And Skip (Wolfson Press). In addition to Wordpeace, his work has appeared in North Dakota Quarterly, Nimrod, Mudfish, and elsewhere.