Neither woman must have slept
unbroken that night

but both woke the next day knowing
that she and the other, mother or not,

were kept equally awake, afraid to split
and bleed into the unholy dream

where either was able
to kill one half of warped wisdom,

offer undivided attention
in perfect measure, plead,

yet still hold the thought, whole,
fleeting or not, of ​Do it​. D​o it.​

Aaron Sandberg resides in Illinois where he teaches. His recent poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Asimov’s Science Fiction, English Journal, The Racket, Writers Resist, Yes Poetry, Unbroken, One Sentence Poems, Vita Brevis Press, Literary Yard, Perhappened Mag, and elsewhere. You might find him—though socially-distant—on Instagram @aarondsandberg.