The New Knights

by Lynne Sargent ​

Chivalry didn’t die,
it just needed a little more hopepunk:

Gawain crafts fake IDs for immigrants,
implants bio-hacked RFIDs
to help them through the scanners.

Morgana white-hat hacks for the climate resistance,
making sure there is still a dream of paradise
before Avalon.

Merlin is playing butler to the billionaires,
biding xyr time until xe flips the switch,
makes the mansions go dark and the money disappear.

Gwen and Lance have figured out their ethical sluttery
and lead a polyam farming commune,
because what’s a romance without a lot of love?

Galahad has gone to craft a new grail,
and he knows it isn’t on Mars.
It’s in same place chivalry lives,
where it has always lived: ​

In the hearts of those who care for others,
who know that code, love, and craft,
that service, labour, and art
can all be swords against the darkness.

Lynne Sargent is a writer, aerialist, and holds a Ph.D in Applied Philosophy. They are the poetry editor at Utopia Science Fiction magazine. Their work has been nominated for Rhysling, Elgin, and Aurora Awards, and has appeared in venues such as Augur Magazine, Strange Horizons, and Daily Science Fiction. Their first collection, A Refuge of Tales is out now from Renaissance Press. To find out more, reach out to them on Twitter @SamLynneS, or for a complete bibliography visit them at scribbledshadows.wordpress.com.