​Such Times as These by David Mihalyov

Fly you rebel, you charlatan,
for who other than a trickster
could feel lightness in such times as these?

Although you circle and swoop, we know 
the world is broken. And the tears we cry 
at that knowledge forever stain our cheeks.

Don’t shimmer in the golden glow of daybreak,
don’t bring another dawn if it cannot 
be better than those we have already seen.

I see you as you want us to – 
benevolent, generous – but the
sheen blinds us from the truth.

Yet, you touch me, and the sting
of gratification inoculates my doubts, 
makes me want to trust.

But tell me, how can we soar, how 
do we survive when each day
whittles away our resolve.

How do we overcome the burdens
handed us, the holes that can’t be filled
with 10,000 shovelfuls of dirt.

No, even you can’t pretend that all 
will be well. You rise higher, 
but at some point, the wax will melt.


David Mihalyov lives near Lake Ontario in Webster, NY, with his wife, two daughters, and beagle. His poems and short fiction have appeared in Ocean State Review, Dunes Review, Free State Review, New Plains Review, San Pedro River Review, and other journals. His first poetry collection, A Safe Distance, was published by Main Street Rag Press in 2022.