Kenneth Pobo

RED VASE

Such a normal day,
dishes half done,
the cat crying
for extra food,
a Pennsylvania pewter sky.

A thief clamors into
my house, pistol
whips me, grabs
my wallet, knocks
over a red vase
my great-grandmother
willed to me. It shatters,
red tears on
a wooden floor.
He laughs
as he leaves. I put
each piece in a box.

Maybe
shard by shard,
piece by piece,
they’ll rebuild
in darkness. Until
the vase can hold
a thin-stemmed rose.


Ken's YouTube reading of "Red Vase"


Ken confesses: "What inspired the poem: Trump. Many people feel broken into (and broken) and something precious lost, perhaps for good."

KENNETH POBO's March 2025 book from Fernwood Press is At The Window, Silence. Also forthcoming this year from Wolfson Press is Raylene And Skip.