Civil Society – a poem by Maryanne Hannan

Civil Society


Unto you therefore, O kings, do I speak, that ye may learn wisdom, and not fall - Wisdom 6:9


When you say you are king,
I laugh. And ask, of what?
But there’s your retinue,
Your messengers, specks 
Against my moon’s horizon,
My brilliant sun and stars,
Here, demanding I listen.

A frequent book reviewer, Maryanne Hannan has published poetry in THE WINDHOVER, PRESENCE: A JOURNAL OF CATHOLIC POETRY, CHRISTIAN CENTURY, and elsewhere. She is the author of ROCKING LIKE IT’S ALL INTERMEZZO; 21ST CENTURY RESPONSORIALS.