The speaker lists things people often admire in a man: good looks, nice hair, a smile, cute lips, an accent, white teeth. After each short run of them comes the same flat verdict, "Does not a king make." The repetition works like a shrug, or a door closing. None of these surface qualities, the speaker insists, add up to real worth or leadership.
The ending is the turn. After dismissing everything on the list, the speaker asks, "So then / Tell me / What does?" It reads as a genuine question, and it sounds a little weary. The speaker seems to be tired of being charmed by appearances, and maybe tired of being let down by them, but doesn't have a clear answer. The title, "Tight rope," suggests a precarious balance, perhaps between attraction and judgment. The mood is cool, skeptical and quietly vulnerable, with the short lines leaving the question hanging in the air.