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

“I came here to be a poet …”

I like how Stevie Nicks speaks like a Martian sometimes.  

“I came here for a reason,” she said in a 1983 interview. 
As if simply relaying the directive from her mothership.  

“I didn’t come here to be a mother …” Bet that sounded  
pretty alien then. Coming from a young pretty woman.  

Like a Trojan horse. Feminism disguised in a frilly dress.   

It makes me think about my birth mother. Like Stevie, 
she didn’t come here to be a mother. Unlike my mother,  
who couldn’t get pregnant but wouldn’t let that stop her 
from becoming what she came here to be. My mother,  

as passionate about adoption as she was about choice. 

I like how that confuses some—those who like to point 
out that abortion might’ve prevented her from adopting. 
I suppose those dimwits came here to be … well, dimwits.  

Still, bet they can’t help but hum along when they hear 
Stevie Nicks songs. Failing to realize that all those songs  
are her children. That she gave birth to them for us.   

“Because,” she said. “I want to enhance this planet.” 

Copyright © 2026 by Michael Montlack. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on April 17, 2026, by the Academy of American Poets. 

read the rest

Michael Montlack

Michael Montlack
Courtesy of Michael Montlack
  • 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Poem-a-Day is the original and only daily digital poetry series featuring over 250 new, previously unpublished poems by today’s talented poets each year. Dorianne Laux is the Guest Editor for April. Read or listen to a Q&A with Laux 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
Into the Dusk-Charged Air John Ashbery
On Carpaccio's Picture: The Dream of St. Ursula Amy Lowell
Daily Verses 1 Marigloria Palma
Summons (audio only) Joan Larkin
Hallowe'en Joel Benton
The Little Office of the Immaculate Conception Martha Silano
Thinking of Madame Bovary Jane Kenyon
To the "Flat Iron" Sadakichi Hartmann
The Three Times Alfred Corn
The Difference between a Child and a Poem Michael Blumenthal

Pagination

  • First page « First
  • Previous page ‹ Previous
  • …
  • Page 1629
  • Page 1630
  • Page 1631
  • Page 1632
  • …
  • 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, 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038
poets .org