by Katie Kemple
A woman asks me how
to find Hope Street.
I'm not sure, I say. Maybe
around the corner? The rest
of the week Hope Street
startles me. Finds me
when I least expect it.
On the walk to the library.
After dinner with college
roommates. At the end
of my volunteer shift.
The sign towers over me.
You have to look up to
see it. The font confident
we will find our way.
Katie Kemple is the author of Big Man (Chestnut Review Chapbooks, 2025). Her work has been curated by Frontier, Plougharers, and Rattle (Poets Respond).