In this episode we dive into a poem that turns a poolside scene into a profound meditation on love.

Hero by Saraswati Nagpal

Pina coladas are served but you continue

to perambulate in the pool, past goggle-eyed kids

diving for pennies, young lovers smooching, and

the fuchsia-clad selfie poser I’m rolling my eyes at.

Onward you go, saviour of ditzy bees, drowning

dragonflies, delusional spiders, your tender, cupped

hands scooping them from despair to dry tile.

In the end, isn’t that love? To carry the fragile heart

with gentleness from shore to shore,

from cold delusions to the solid warmth of peace.

Saraswati Nagpal is a Forward Prize-nominated Indian poet, writer of myth & fantasy, and classical dancer. She is Co-Editor at The Winged Moon literary substack, and is published in The Atlantic, Atlanta Review, Acropolis, Dust, SAND, and others, besides international anthologies. She has been nominated for three Best of the Net and a Pushcart Prize for her poems. Her debut poetry collection is Drench Me in Silver (Black Bough, 2025). You can get a copy here::

1. Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/Drench-Me-Silver-India-Asia/dp/9334325763

2. Internationally across Amazon: https://shorturl.at/82QxI

Saraswati is also a co-editor of Winged Moon Literary Magazine, which you can follow here: https://thewingedmoon.substack.com/

Enter Poem is a slow, soft space to feel poetry. To fall in love with poems. Hosted by poet and writer Amy Singh, this podcast opens the door to poems that arrive just when we need them. In each episode, we enter the heart of a poem, and let it enter ours. 

Whether it’s a poem Amy has chosen or one loved by a guest, Enter Poem invites you to feel deeply, wonder freely, and linger in language.

Music Credits: @JonnyEaston

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amysingh.substack.com