Do you write to a standard
that isn’t your own
Do you pledge your allegiance
to a dilettante throne
Do you shut out your Muse
when her words pierce the skin
Do you think before feeling
looking out never in
Is your nighttime belabored
with dreams from the past
Is the daylight a hunter
your guilt running fast
Is the one choice that’s left you
the one you can’t make
Is the courage required
—your one failing grace
(Dreamsleep: October, 2023)
Oh Henry
God save the king
but not the queen
Her neck awaits
the guillotine
Someone to blame
each sacrifice
The son he wanted
whose birth on ice
The throne half-vacant
one seat to fill
The royal maidens
appear at will
Which one will prosper
how many fall
Into the moat
—of fate’s recall
(The New Room: October, 2023)