An Enemy Within
Each of us has an enemy within.
For some it’s that voice in back of the mind
rehearsing our shortcomings, assuring us
we’re not enough for this world. For others
it’s the barber, the shopkeeper down the block,
their esoteric powers of endurance
hinting at some gross imbalance in the scales.
For others still it’s both at once—an inferno
of adversaries unfurling with each uneasy step.
You disappear into a restroom, splash
your face with water but there’s no escape
from yourself. The ghoul in the glass is you,
the enemy that pollutes every breath.
The mosquito in your ear will never
cease its drilling, a torment worse than death.
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Inspiration for this poem is addressed in Heather Cox Richardson’s post from September 30, 2025. Hegseth’s unprecedented demand that large numbers of America’s top military personnel meet on short notice and at great expense to the American public.
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A Note from The Author
When a person sees enemies everywhere they look, one must come to the conclusion that their true enemy is in the mirror. America does indeed have ‘an enemy within’, but it isn’t the one the current regime thinks it is. The call, as they say, is coming from inside the house.
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Marc Alan Di Martino’s books include Day Lasts Forever: Selected Poems of Mario dell’Arco (World Poetry, 2024—longlisted for the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation), Love Poem with Pomegranate (Ghost City, 2023), Still Life with City (Pski’s Porch, 2022) and Unburial (Kelsay, 2019). His poems and translations appear in Rattle, iamb, Palette Poetry and many other journals and anthologies. His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Currently a reader for Baltimore Review, he lives in Italy.
