by Kenneth Pobo
a child holding
his Uncle’s hand.
The Uncle loudly says
“You, my boy, will come
to a bad end. The Devil
fluffs your pillow.” Bobolinko,
who rarely makes a scene,
tells this Uncle to stop
tormenting the boy—who
frees himself from his Uncle’s
hand and, right at the corner
of Titus and Tarn, becomes
an owl perching on
a balcony. The Uncle calls
to the boy “Come down now,
Devil,” but the boy flies
toward a forest where
branches will hold
and hide him, food
scurries over twigs
and pine needles, while
his Uncle stumbles on
a sewer grate, pinned
by a heart attack
About the Author:
Kenneth Pobo (he/him) is the author of twenty-one chapbooks and nine full-length collections. Recent books include Bend of Quiet (Blue Light Press), Loplop in a Red City (Circling Rivers), Lilac And Sawdust (Meadowlark Press) and Gold Bracelet in a Cave: Aunt Stokesia (Ethel Press). His work has appeared in North Dakota Quarterly, Asheville Literary Review, Nimrod, Mudfish, Hawaii Review, and elsewhere.