Another Day in May

Anthony Robinson

Now more coffee and Brian Wilson

And skittering creatures. I've eaten

Tacos for three days straight and Dad

Is still on oxygen. To feel intense grief

Not right now is also to feel guilty

Concerning elements and microbes

What makes a man sick is also

What kills him, what kills a man

Is also what sustains him. Here, love

Is a concept. Mercy is an act

Of unshabby imagination. Mother

Puts out food for the goldfinches,

A famous athlete debases himself

To the applause of at least dozens.

I've been meaning to talk to you about

The shade-tree and all the shade-tree

People who are as exactly as lazy as I

And exactly as beaten down. Surveyors

Are ranging out back, putting posts

In things. All winter we waited

For the sun and now he's here but will

He make it through another year?

More from Anthony Robinson ↓

• @shedsofthenorthwest on Instagram
• His books, Failures of the Poets, and Broke Republic, are out now.

Mentioned in this episode:

Write After with One Poem Only

Write After is a way to encourage poets to listen and write, and use National Poetry Month to highlight how listening to poetry makes us better poets. I know I write the best when I’m surrounded by beautiful poetry–it’s part of the reason I created this podcast, and I want to encourage others to share this practice. If you want to join: Listen to a poem from the month of April on One Poem Only, then write your own in response. I will pick one for each day to read in June for a special series: One Poem After 🍎🍏 Submissions close May 15.

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