One Poem Only is a daily poetry podcast offering a quiet moment with a single poem—read aloud, without analysis or noise.

Operating Instructions for the Day After Your Best Friend Tells You He Supports Genocide

Jané Dowd

Upon waking: breathe deep.

Savour the shimmer of momentary freedom,

lack of memory and regret.

Surround yourself with three dogs:

sentinels; triumvirate.

Check the curtain crack for signs of dawn.

When the child stirs, relish her aliveness.

As the small ghosts arise in protest,

cup their faces in your bloody hands,

whisper the useless lament:

I am sorry. -And again:

I am sorrow.

When the cat crawls under your crook’d claw:

picture the desert landscape

devoid of trees, of innocence, of hope, of caress.

As you pour the milk, squeeze the honey:

hold your heart on an open palm

leave it be; watch how it stutters

shivers and stalls

look at its redness which is simple

fragile human

the same;

fill it with your grit, ask that sinewy engine

to oyster, to pearl

to return to the cave of your chest

alive, yes, but beating

differently, more soundly and

more true

More from Jané Dowd ↓

1. @jane_doe.8.0 on Instagram
2. @janedoe9 on Substack

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