by Penelope Moffet
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| AI-generated image by NightCafé for The New Verse News |
A large orange butterfly
flits through a break in traffic
from one side of the street
to the median, one line of
sign-holding people chanting
"No monarchs! No kings!"
to another. No, goddammit, no.
Don't be such a fucking poet.
Don't focus on the butterfly.
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| The handmade poster the poet will be carrying at today's march. |
Penelope Moffet is the author of three chapbooks, most recently Cauldron of Hisses (Arroyo Seco Press, 2022). Her poems appear in Eclectica, ONE ART, Calyx and other literary journals. A full-length collection of her poetry will be published by Sheila-Na-Gig Editions in 2026. A Pushcart Prize nominee, she lives in Southern California.
