Empress

Her regime expires when
the moon meets the sun
on the horizon we can’t see
because the sycamore trees

next door block our view.
Our world droops in anticipation.
We would like to exchange
the unkind for the kind but

we can’t find the strength
to oust the inevitable. Instead
we joke about politics and watch
our neighbors arm themselves.

Credit

From Promise (Louisiana State University Press, 2017). Copyright © 2017 by Sally Van Doren. Used with the permission of Louisiana State University Press.