Today’s poem is Amalgam by Rebecca Foust.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I have a hard time not using metaphors and analogies in everyday conversation. My kids sometimes tease me about it: “Look out, the poet has entered the chat!” my son recently laughed. Maybe it is a poet thing, but I think we all naturally use analogies and comparisons when we’re trying to explain an experience. Even children do this, because the power of metaphor and analogy — of comparison — is that it helps people understand what you mean. It just clicks.”

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Today’s poem is Go by Kathleen Ossip.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Other poems are like strands of pearls, long and lustrous and nearly impossible to gather into your hands all at once.”

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Today’s poem is Sal, 1950 by Paula Colangelo.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem explores PTSD as experienced by a POW, or prisoner of war. I admire this poem for the way it speaks to the resilience of the human spirit. I sometimes find myself in awe of what humans can survive, and what trauma survivors can keep intact inside themselves, and what they can still find joy in.”

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Today’s poem is Noah's Nameless Wife Takes Inventory by C.T. Salazar.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “In many of the stories I grew up with, the men are named but their wives and daughters are not. That makes it pretty clear who the main characters are, doesn’t it? For example, in the story of Noah’s Ark, in the book of Genesis in the Christian bible, there are four wives on the ark—the wives of Noah and his three sons. Guess which characters aren’t named? That’s right—the wives. Noah’s wife is identified as just that: Noah’s wife.”

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Today’s poem is At the Base of the Mountain by Amanda Hawkins.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I’m not a religious person, but I think everyone has places that are sacred to them—places we might return to as pilgrims, as seekers. I think of how people visit the graves of their ancestors, or the places where they once lived. When we stand where our loved ones once stood, it does feel special and meaningful to be in that space, on that ground.”

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Today’s poem is Paperweight by Ryan Teitman. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem charmed me immediately with its imagination and its restraint. It’s a poem that makes me ask, “What if?” It’s also a poem I want to read again as soon as I finish it.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Today’s poem is Entry by Chet'la Sebree.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “It's human nature to want to know for oneself, not only to trust in the knowledge of others. It’s human nature to want to make decisions for oneself, not only to trust in the decisions of others. It’s human nature to want to see for oneself, firsthand, not mediated by others.”

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Today’s poem is Before Lunar New Year, Our Mothers Go Missing by Uyen Phuong Dang.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem references the Lunar New Year, which happens in February, but it’s a timeless, seasonless poem. It has me thinking about the relationship between mothers and daughters, and between one generation and the next.”

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Today’s poem is Echo by Pura López-Colomé, translated by Forrest Gander.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I also think that all literature is translation, in a sense. We are taking what is in our minds and translating that into language—and that’s true in any language. I think there is always a gap between what we want to express and what we can articulate with words. Language can only say so much.”

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Today’s poem is Gloria Mundi by Michael Kleber-Diggs.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I have sort of an odd confession: I have a funeral playlist—a list of songs I want played at whatever my memorial service turns out to be. Occasionally I add to it, and now and then I remove songs once they’ve lost their shine. My kids have laughed about this—“Mom, you’re so dark”—but I don’t find it morbid at all, really. I think of my funeral as the last party I’ll ever throw, and I’ll be there—in spirit, at least. (How’s that for a mom joke?)”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp