The American Poetry Review

TWO POEMS

Mother

One day the Internet will be gone.The lights will blink off.Buildings will be only the outline of their foundations,then those too will turn to dust.The gods give you fire:you put it in your heartand walk forward.Heat and pain. Dim light, long shadow.A tiny person wakes up sad, then happy,then hungry, then full. My job is to keep her alive.Failure is inevitable.What if all I want is to delight in this noxious body?What if there’s nothing above this?What do I sacrifice if not myself?

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