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Poem-a-Day

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

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Poem-a-day

What Ails Me

The ache, the depth, motion and all things 
            that change, am I
Being too broad here, the horizon 
            and the myth
Of infinite regression, of gravity (which was once
            called music)
And passion, like flowers in an electro-

            magnetic field
Which ripple out & spark, the grand illusions
            and the tiny
Ones alike, the indifference of strangers
            to the flight
Of birds, can you hear me now, do you want me
            to be more specific

About outer space, the quantum particles
            that swerve
Along the vertex, where two bodies (heavenly
            or otherwise)
Intersect, the minor tasks and major 
            efforts that lend life
A narrative, a geometric center, the appalling

            beauty of the abstract, 
Can you hear me, should I trace from X to Y
            a downward
Slope, the ache & depth, can I parse the grammar 
            of agony, the wheel
And pulley, the wedge, all our inventions: maps,
            poetry, drones.

Copyright © 2026 by Sara Nicholson. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on January 6, 2026, by the Academy of American Poets.

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Sara Nicholson

Sara Nicholson
Photo credit: C. Violet Eaton
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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Poem-a-Day is the original and only daily digital poetry series featuring over 250 new, previously unpublished poems by today’s talented poets each year. Khaled Mattawa is the Guest Editor of December. Read or listen to a Q&A with Mattawa about his curatorial process, and learn more about the 2025 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
William James, Henry James Sarah Gridley 04/27/2010
The Widows of Gravesend L. S. Asekoff 04/26/2010
Graves We Filled Before the Fire Gabrielle Calvocoressi 04/25/2010
Coach Losing His Daughter Jack Ridl 04/24/2010
Spine to Spin, Spoke to Speak Andrew Joron 04/23/2010
Me and the Otters Dorothea Lasky 04/22/2010
The Passionate Freudian to His Love Dorothy Parker 04/21/2010
Crannog Moya Cannon 04/20/2010
The Love-Hat Relationship Aaron Belz 04/18/2010
Prayer for Sleep Cheryl Dumesnil 04/18/2010

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