☀ Today's Poem: "Las Hormigas" Sandra McPherson

Today's Headline: "Mosab Abu Toha on the Poetry of Nasser Rabah"

April 27, 2025 Las Hormigas Sandra McPherson They so liked breastmilk; Joanne fell asleep & leaked, the ants woke up, made the sweet climb. Others were surprised to find acidophilus, Soledad cleansing her inside sex—they made their way across her ivory sheets while she napped. Ah, the little guys were rejected by our sisters. But still, I feel sad that in my new lodgings there are no more glossy arrowheads to follow, sprinkle with baking powder, make a pretty cayenne path for over the once-food-strewn sill (they scent our past). They can carry their groceries bag-free: & ants shop in the honey cupboard, thirst like black hair being washed in a sink. Car-waxed black traffic jam—that's actual jam, strawberry. Once my curatorial staff. But let them go on strike. Those embodiments of intention; they don't sit around playing cards; perhaps they never play, never horse around. Hard-to-see-in-the-dark jet numbers on the radio dial. Perhaps there is no laughter in their chasm. Serious: but they're able to stand up on hind legs— a darling trick. I want to give them a little inkwell. A beachball. The number of communal legs alone exceeds the stars underground. They could be an orchestra. A single one looks in the mirror & sees a note. A quarter note. So many instincts massing as one. If I miss one little lover, do I miss them all? from the book SPEECH CRUSH / Gunpowder Press READ ABOUT TODAY'S POEM Share Tweet Forward Celebrate National Poetry Month with Our Readers For National Poetry Month this year, Poetry Daily decided to turn the spotlight on readers of poetry: who we know are especially important, who, through the power of their attention, collaborate in the making of a poem’s meaning and worth. Which poem, we asked all of you—in our current archive of more than two thousand poems featured on the site since it moved to George Mason University in 2018—made you think, surprised you, moved you, or changed your world just a little? READERS WRITE BACK "Mosab Abu Toha on the Poetry of Nasser Rabah" "If I were to pick only one poet from Gaza to be translated and published in the English-speaking world, this is who it would be. Nasser Rabah is my favorite living poet in Palestine. The language he uses in his poems is dazzling. His metaphors are like raindrops pouring over me after a long summer. The musicality of his lines could replace my heartbeats and I would feel more than alive." viaLITERARY HUB READ ALL TODAY'S HEADLINES donate View in browser You have received this email because you submitted your email address at www.poems.com. If you would like to unsubscribe please click here. © 2025 Poetry Daily, Poetry Daily, MS 3E4, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA 22030 Design by the Binding Agency

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