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Poem-a-day

Ancestor Syndrome

A Fulani believes herself inevitably a bird fullburn. 
She will say she soon ascends, mistress over milks. 
As to the superpower: Her second stomach a steel.

What?  My bloodkind take active pride in tolerance— 
of lactose—inheriting the Lactase Persistence Trait, 
making-to-order Universe from 1 molecular milk.

Our insults involve enzyme—cowmilk curdles them 
that lack. We digest dairies, we cattle herd, we bird. 
I ask and it is explained to me: what milk has to do

with mass murder. I bathed in a bathtub full of full- 
fat milk and never felt more a monster. The second 
time you read the Bible through, it makes less sense

than the first, but still—try mingling milk & honey. 
I deserve none of the good rife things got in this life. 
To offer fresh cream on Saharan shrines is madness,

so we won’t do it. I fancy metaphors about Moon 
and more. I do not remotely adore milk metaphor. 
A light body alit in lait—life in lanterna ’til Aljanna:

In sha Allah celestia ever antiseptic/unsour. AMIN.

Copyright © 2026 by Mary-Alice Daniel. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on February 25, 2026, by the Academy of American Poets. 
 

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Mary-Alice Daniel

Mary-Alice Daniel
Courtesy of Mary-Alice Daniel
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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Poem-a-Day is the original and only daily digital poetry series featuring over 250 new, previously unpublished poems by today’s talented poets each year. Chris Abani is the Guest Editor for February. Read or listen to a Q&A with Abani about his 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

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The Door-to-Door Saleswoman Robin Chapman 11/22/2021
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The Lost Lagoon Emily Pauline Johnson 11/20/2021
The White-headed Woodpecker Sean Hill 11/19/2021
In the Discount Lot Angela C. Trudell Vasquez 11/18/2021
Self-Compassion James Crews 11/17/2021
Anne CMarie Fuhrman 11/16/2021
what we learn in time of pestilence Wendy Vardaman 11/15/2021
Changing Is Not Vanishing Carlos Montezuma 11/14/2021
The Indians’ Spirits Wa Wa Chaw 11/13/2021

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