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Poem-a-day

The Quiet Shift

“The power is with the silent ones ...”
—Swami Vivekananda

Something in me revels in silent mojos. Something in me anchors in chaos, collecting in folds like dripping wax. Something in me presents like solid linen while something drifts like silk in tousled winds. Something in me watches me from foreign dimensions. Something in me walks barefoot. Something in me thuds like tactical boots heard by neighbors down the street. And then something in me stays, inaudibly staring at no one. In every state, I hope to be understood. “Wait, what?” My needs, my errors, my missteps, my love, my extended giving nibble like besotted puppies with immature teeth. Deliberately, as it rains or snows, I let these lead me into some sort of wisdom as I rub my palms soothing the aridity of increasing wrinkles. 
Sigh, sigh, sigh again, sigh
I try, truly I do, I promise I try
I even sing me a soft lullaby
If nothing folds, it’s goodbye.

Copyright © 2026 by Anita Nahal. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on May 9, 2026, by the Academy of American Poets. 

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Anita Nahal

Anita Nahal
Courtesy of Anita Nahal
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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Poem-a-Day is the original and only daily digital poetry series featuring over 250 new, previously unpublished poems by today’s talented poets each year. Hala Alyan is the Guest Editor for May. Read or listen to a Q&A with Alyan 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
Perhaps the World Ends Here Joy Harjo
Out of Debt Claude McKay
To a Skylark Percy Bysshe Shelley
To a Skull Joshua Henry Jones Jr.
Thinking in Bed Dennis Lee
Naming the Heartbeats Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind Thomas Wyatt
The Funeral Home Robert Mezey
Pillow Li-Young Lee
Song for Equal Suffrage Charlotte Perkins Gilman

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