Poetry: Fridays

good shoppers trampled a man
to death does laziness save lives?
I meant my laziness by which I mean
the many ways I keep my boys
alive & the few words I put aside
for later Be kind mothers say
To yourself and others this is
an old topic & the only one today
I want to trample my own heart
here they come: sudden onset
of the end of loneliness

Rachel Zucker is the author of nine books, most recently a memoir titled “MOTHERs” and a double collection of prose and poetry, “The Pedestrians.” Her book “Museum of Accidents” was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. She received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 2013. Zucker teaches poetry at New York University.