I am thinking of neighborhoods in cities
where the sun rises out of duty and boredom.

Of dusted streets and deserted schools
named after kings in Africa’s rural towns.

The more pretentious the name of a place
the more likely it resembles a dump.

The names try hard to make up the difference.
Mask the realities, project pompous claims.

Like entries in a journal of unfulfilled desires,
or attempts at promoting unhealthy diets.

If we examine a name long enough, a meaning emerges.
Sometimes a name yearns for things to be better.