Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Word of the Day
24/05/2026
Aiko
The day lays its load
in the hollow of my hands,
asking me to rise.
I whisper into the weight,
hoping someone hears my breath.
Ren
I hear that whisper,
the tremor in your rising
echoing my own.
Your breath brushes my ribs too
as if we share one burden.
Aiko
Some weights speak softly,
a murmur beneath the skin
calling me to act.
Your nearness shapes that murmur,
turning fear into a pulse.
Ren
I feel that pulse now,
your hesitation threading
through my steady step.
Let me match your rhythm first
so the load moves between us.
Aiko
Still I lift the weight,
learning how it settles in
the deep of my bones.
Yet your hand beneath the strain
teaches me a different stance.
Ren
Your stance strengthens mine,
the tilt of your shoulders guides
how I bear my own.
Two bodies can find a way
to carry what one could not.
Aiko
What I carry now
is shaped by your quiet care
more than by its mass.
The dawn feels a little nearer
when I feel you walking close.
Ren
Then let us keep on,
your breath answering my breath
as the morning grows.
An onus becomes a path
when two hearts agree to lift.
May 24
May 24, 2026 at 1:03 AM UTC
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Word of the Day
24/05/2026
Aiko
The day lays its load
in the hollow of my hands,
asking me to rise.
I whisper into the weight,
hoping someone hears my breath.
Ren
I hear that whisper,
the tremor in your rising
echoing my own.
Your breath brushes my ribs too
as if we share one burden.
Aiko
Some weights speak softly,
a murmur beneath the skin
calling me to act.
Your nearness shapes that murmur,
turning fear into a pulse.
Ren
I feel that pulse now,
your hesitation threading
through my steady step.
Let me match your rhythm first
so the load moves between us.
Aiko
Still I lift the weight,
learning how it settles in
the deep of my bones.
Yet your hand beneath the strain
teaches me a different stance.
Ren
Your stance strengthens mine,
the tilt of your shoulders guides
how I bear my own.
Two bodies can find a way
to carry what one could not.
Aiko
What I carry now
is shaped by your quiet care
more than by its mass.
The dawn feels a little nearer
when I feel you walking close.
Ren
Then let us keep on,
your breath answering my breath
as the morning grows.
An onus becomes a path
when two hearts agree to lift.
What It Means
Onus is a formal word typically used to refer to a responsibility, obligation, or burden. It is usually preceded by the word the.
Request permission to use this poem