Skip to main content
Poets.org

mobileMenu

  • Poems
  • Poets
  • Poem-a-Day
  • National Poetry Month
  • Materials for Teachers
  • 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

i didn’t eat the sun

but

          it

                                  poured

                                                                    into

                                                                               me

 

I didn’t eat the ocean but the waves of the

south the east the west and the north

lapped against my feet and my soles drank

in the saltwater i didn’t eat the roads but a

thousand miles of asphalt rebuilt my bones

filling in all the faultlines all the places worn

down to breakage i didn’t eat the monte but

the earth the scent of earth the scent of

monte the scent of lluvia filled me and filled

me and remade my flesh i didn’t run with the

coyotes but i howled with them i howled with

them and

 

remembered

                               what

                                            freedom

                                                                        was


 

i didn’t eat the wind but it found my mouth

and poured in and i felt my wings my

shriveled long forgotten wings filling and

stretching and reaching and unfolding how

was it i’d forgotten myself how was it i’d

collapsed and collapsed in on myself i didn't

eat the sun but all the light came streaming

in and oh with what gladness with what

relief with what joy i received it so much

light when i hadn't even known

 

i’d

             been

                              sitting

                                            in

                                                          the

                                                                       dark

Copyright © 2026 by ire’ne lara silva. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on March 25, 2026, by the Academy of American Poets.

read the rest

ire’ne lara silva

ire’ne lara silva
Courtesy of ire’ne lara silva
  • 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. Danusha Laméris is the Guest Editor for March. Read or listen to a Q&A with Laméris 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

Title Author Date
Sleep Hygiene Jill Khoury 07/14/2023
Oregon State Hospital Roberto Cabrera 07/13/2023
Stability Is a Feeling Nazifa Islam 07/12/2023
Awkwafina Clarifies That She’s Appreciating, Not Appropriating (in Black American Sentences) Simone Person 07/11/2023
Snow Globe of Denver The Cyborg Jillian Weise 07/10/2023
Marie Bashkirtseff Said Annie Charlotte Dalton 07/09/2023
The Music of Beauty James Nack 07/08/2023
Necromancy for the Bitter Brian Koukol 07/07/2023
Douglass Pool Latif Askia Ba 07/06/2023
Oak Skin Kris Ringman 07/05/2023

Pagination

  • First page « First
  • Previous page ‹ Previous
  • …
  • Page 98
  • Page 99
  • Page 100
  • Page 101
  • …
  • 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
    • 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, 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038
poets .org