Today's poem is by Emily Hockaday

Aubade
       

It is the mockingbird that wakes me
this time. I carry you with me. The fog
is thick; I can't make out any bodies

on the track in the park. I carry
you with me. My bladder is full like it was at 2
and then 5 in the morning. I suddenly remember

that yesterday congress voted
and now compassion is up to us. Through all this,
I carry you with me. I am the same

tough muscle I always was. It is incredible
to imagine this is where history turns. From here
everything seems dire. A new web appears

on my jade cutting. Spider mites. Rain is imminent;
I am eager for barometric relief. Fog can only hide
us for so long. I carry you.

Copyright © 2025 Emily Hockaday All rights reserved
from Blood Music
Small Harbor Publishing
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission