“The Path” may appear simple, but its ending moves me, every time. Fairy tale, love poem, ars poetica—“The Path” is all of these and more.

Florencia Milito’s poem paints a sympathetic portrait of the complicated artist and his work as “a celestial housekeeper” whose mission was “to pleat the folds of sky” and “stitch its gems,” in lines that communicate tenderness and awe.

The careful balance S.J. Sloat strikes between elements of erasure and visual art in each poem reveals new depths upon multiple readings. The compressed lyrics sing of introspection and offer wisdom, and they are richly enhanced by the inspired variety and ingenuity of erasure modalities and concrete imagery.

"When Fanny Lou Hamer said” champions the assertion of the most basic human and civil rights through means sanctioned by our Constitution: peaceful assembly and protest, voting, running for office, and the everyday radical acts of poetry, hope, and prayer.

“The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman is an example of an occasional poem that exceeded itself by happening to be the perfect message at the perfect time and place, delivered by the perfect messenger.

Today’s featured poem, “What Bucks or Breaks” by Tara Betts, is a wonderful example of how a poem’s structure can enhance its meaning.

The poem is a love song both to my husband and to a city that I find endlessly fascinating and frustrating, and that I miss, especially in this travel-free year. —Chloe Martinez