Skip to main content
Poets.org

mobileMenu

  • Poems
  • Poets
  • Poem-a-Day
  • National Poetry Month
  • Materials for Teachers
  • Literary Seminars
  • American Poets Magazine

Main navigation

  • Poets.org
  • Academy of American Poets
  • National Poetry Month
  • American Poets Magazine

User account menu

  • Log in
  • Membership
  • Donate
Donate
Poets.org

Poem-a-Day

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

Page submenu block

  • find poems
  • find poets
  • poem-a-day
  • literary seminars
  • materials for teachers
  • poetry near you

Poem-a-day

[Someone running with his head aflame …]

translated from the Spanish by Robin Myers
 

Someone running with his head aflame as the gods gust in his chest. The wind stirs him everywhere exhaustion’s gone. Others fall like trees. The men plead with the god of mice or the goddess of cow-eyes or the god who fills the sky with bolts. They wait for something to kindle them like embers. Now they burn their hands and their legs run almost by themselves. The heart brims with vitality. It’s the same wildness of the dogs, the heave of the river and sunlight; the donkey’s mettle, the tornado hoisting the waves into the clouds. Its name is ménos, force. The energy that ignites the limbs and heats the blood and propels life all around. An impulse is an extraordinary glimmer, sometimes a blind one. Force can be a vital explosion. It too ignores shatters whoever stands before it. The wind drives the legs uproots the leaves and howls in the water’s ears. The fire illuminates and razes the woods it’s in my thinking now.

 


 

[Alguien corriendo con la cabeza en llamas ...]

 

 

Alguien corriendo con la cabeza en llamas mientras los dioses soplan en su pecho. El viento lo aviva para todos lados el cansancio se va. Otros caen como árboles. Los hombres piden ayuda al dios de los ratones o la de ojos de vaca o al que llena el cielo de relámpagos. Esperan que algo los encienda como brasas. Ahora queman las manos y las piernas corren casi por su cuenta. El corazón desborda de vitalidad. Es la misma fiereza de los perros, el arrastre del río y el rayo del sol; el temple del burro, el tornado que levanta las olas por las nubes. Su nombre es ménos, fuerza. La energía que enciende los miembros y calienta la sangre y mueve la vida alrededor. El impulso es un brillo extraordinario, a veces ciego. La fuerza puede ser una explosión vital. También ignora hace pedazos al que tiene enfrente. El viento empuja las piernas y arranca las hojas y aúlla en los oídos del agua. El incendio ilumina y arrasa el bosque está en mi pensamiento ahora.

Copyright © 2026 by Daniel Lipara, translated by Robin Myers. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on September 16, 2026, by the Academy of American Poets. 

read the rest

Daniel Lipara

Daniel Lipara
Photo credit: Robin Myers
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Tumblr
  • View print mode
  • Copy embed code
Add to anthology

Sign up for Poem-a-Day

* indicates required

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. Maya C. Popa is the Guest Editor for September. Read or listen to a Q&A with Maya 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
In Memory of E. M. EL—K. Ameen Rihani
A Word From the Fat Lady Gabrielle Calvocoressi
Song of Myself, 39 Walt Whitman
Bad Hand Tony Barnstone
Song for a Banjo Dance Langston Hughes
The Ladder Leonora Speyer
Retribution Claude McKay
To the Saguaro Cactus Tree in the Desert Rain James Wright
Edmonia Lewis and I Weather the Storm Xan Forest Phillips
The Center of Attention Daniel Hoffman

Pagination

  • First page « First
  • Previous page ‹ Previous
  • …
  • Page 1108
  • Page 1109
  • Page 1110
  • Page 1111
  • …
  • Next page Next ›
  • Last page Last »

Newsletter Sign Up

Support Us

  • Become a Member
  • Donate Now
  • Get Involved
  • Make a Bequest
  • Advertise with Us

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • SoundCloud
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Footer

  • poets.org

    • Find Poems
    • Find Poets
    • Poetry Near You
    • Jobs for Poets
    • Literary Seminars
    • Privacy Policy
    • Press Center
    • Advertise
  • academy of american poets

    • About Us
    • Programs
    • Prizes
    • First Book Award
    • James Laughlin Award
    • Ambroggio Prize
    • Chancellors
    • Staff
  • national poetry month

    • Poetry & the Creative Mind
    • Dear Poet Project
    • Poster
    • Sponsorship
  • american poets

    • Books Noted
    • Essays
    • Advertise
© Academy of American Poets, 195 Broadway 9th Floor, New York, NY 10007
poets .org