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The only daily poetry series publishing new work by today’s poets.

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Poem-a-day

The Quiet Shift

“The power is with the silent ones ...”
—Swami Vivekananda

Something in me revels in silent mojos. Something in me anchors in chaos, collecting in folds like dripping wax. Something in me presents like solid linen while something drifts like silk in tousled winds. Something in me watches me from foreign dimensions. Something in me walks barefoot. Something in me thuds like tactical boots heard by neighbors down the street. And then something in me stays, inaudibly staring at no one. In every state, I hope to be understood. “Wait, what?” My needs, my errors, my missteps, my love, my extended giving nibble like besotted puppies with immature teeth. Deliberately, as it rains or snows, I let these lead me into some sort of wisdom as I rub my palms soothing the aridity of increasing wrinkles. 
Sigh, sigh, sigh again, sigh
I try, truly I do, I promise I try
I even sing me a soft lullaby
If nothing folds, it’s goodbye.

Copyright © 2026 by Anita Nahal. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on May 9, 2026, by the Academy of American Poets. 

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Anita Nahal

Anita Nahal
Courtesy of Anita Nahal
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About Poem-a-Day

Poem-a-Day is the original and only daily digital poetry series featuring over 250 new, previously unpublished poems by today’s talented poets each year. Hala Alyan is the Guest Editor for May. Read or listen to a Q&A with Alyan about her curatorial process, and learn more about the 2026 Guest Editors. Support Poem-a-Day.  

If you have any questions about Poem-a-Day, visit our Poem-a-Day FAQ.

Previous Poems

Title Author Date
His Excuse for Loving Ben Jonson
The Letters Learn to Breathe Twice Brenda Hillman
Like Prophets of Baal Junious Ward
To Sleep Henri Cole
Iris Song Rickey Laurentiis
Sylvia Gerald Stern
Petals Amy Lowell
Second Why (audio only) Ron Padgett
At the Zoo William Makepeace Thackeray
Sea Change Sasha Pimentel

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