by Kathyrn Ridall
 |
| The New York Times, July 16, 2026 |
2 AM,
loneliness a siren’s song,
a vampire’s kiss. I try
to remember how it felt
to be loved steadfastly
by my husband from the
moment we met until
he left this world.
A shiver in the night
and our 47th president appears—
a six-foot lizard, upright
with orange hair and a red
necktie, his tail a relentless
scythe that levels fields,
each day slashes the fragile
fruits of freedom.
My small dog senses
something outside
the house and launches
from the bed we share,
her barking a spray of bullets.
She wants to protect us
from creatures that bare
their teeth and stalk us
in the night.
 |
AI-generated graphic by NightCafé for The New Verse News. |
Kathyrn Ridall is a poet and non-fiction writer. She is the author of the recent poetry collection The Living Waters Between Us and of the award-winning Dreaming at the Gates: How Dreams Guide Us. She lives in Ventura, CA where she works as a psychotherapist.
