derision settled into the stone of the place
a tree once living now dying
the practice of killing extended

the subjects wanted to know
why the king labored over words
not swords

instead of speech
they nailed their questions
to his door
thinking him deaf
but for text

he would not stop his musing

kathryn l. pringle is an American poet living in Oakland, Ca. She is the author of fault tree (winner of Omindawn’s 1st/2nd book prize selected by CD Wright), RIGHT NEW BIOLOGY (Factory School 2009) and two chapbooks: The Stills (Duration Press) and Temper and Felicity are lovers (TAXT). Her work can also be found in the anthology Conversations at the Wartime Cafe: A Decade of War (Conversations at the Wartime Cafe Press/ WODV Press) and in the anthology I’ll Drown My Book: Conceptual Writing by Women (Les Figues 2012).