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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

To Mars from Arizona

Saturday mornings were science fiction—
That is, on that day anything was possible.

We didn’t have to go to the movies for that,
Though when we did, we were introduced to ourselves

More than anything. Ourselves in rockets,
Ourselves taking chances, ourselves speaking to the universe.

Outside of the movies, we were still in them—
Our bikes were our rockets, our submarines, our jets.

But mostly, and first, our bikes were our horses 
In this childhood West, a loyal, red Western Flyer

Taking me everywhere, up and down, fast and slow.
Only later did I understand it was my own legs

That did it all. My own legs and my arms to steer,
My own small, mighty lungs to shout—

A shout that would later become a song.
When they weren’t horses, when my legs were tired,

When the shouts calmed down into just talking,
We bike-riders would sit, and find in that talking 

The gold we had been looking for, though we didn’t know it.
The gold was made of plans for Saturdays still to come—

We each had different ideas, but we all had them,
Speaking them confidently as if we were lions,

Deep-voiced and sure even in that quietude.
What would happen next was far away,

But even as we rested, something in us knew
We would catch the future no matter how fast it ran.

Copyright © 2023 by Alberto Ríos. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on September 27, 2023, by the Academy of American Poets. 

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Alberto Ríos

Alberto Ríos
Photo credit: Arizona State University
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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Poem-a-Day is the original and only daily digital poetry series featuring over 250 new, previously unpublished poems by today’s talented poets each year. Eunsong Kim is the guest editor of September. Read or listen to a Q&A with Kim about her curatorial process, and learn more about the 2023 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
After Anchorage IV Joan Naviyuk Kane 09/06/2023
Breath for Metal Ching-In Chen 09/05/2023
Long Week Talking Natalie Shapero 09/04/2023
The Palace-Burner Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt 09/03/2023
Home Edgar Guest 09/02/2023
Places Willyce Kim 09/01/2023
frigates that take us lands away M. NourbeSe Philip 08/31/2023
[Aeons quest eye on] Julie Ezelle-Patton 08/30/2023
Lateral Violence Prageeta Sharma 08/29/2023
Valley Oak Julia Bloch 08/28/2023

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