The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

Today’s poem is Late Work by Andrés Cerpa.

Sharing poetry is a two-way street. So today, you'll be hearing a poem selected by one of our listeners. Today’s selection was submitted by Meghan from Pennsylvania.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Meghan reflects… “Today's poem is determined to be hopeful in a way, and it's a kind of hope that seems to exist among all of it.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation and get access to the sponsor-free version of The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

If you’d like to participate in the next round of Community Selections, sign up for our newsletter. We’ll be sending a special Slowdown postcard to new subscribers that sign up this week. Subscribe at slowdownshow.org/newsletter.

Today’s poem is All Trains Are Going Local by Timothy Liu.

Sharing poetry is a two-way street. So today, you'll be hearing a poem selected by one of our listeners. Today’s selection was submitted by Prerna from Assam, India.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Prerna reflects… “Today's poem takes me back to the timelessness of the pandemic. After reading this poem, I started my own little newsletter for my friends, which is named after this poem actually. I started it thinking if nothing else, if I have nothing else going in my life and I forget today from tomorrow, at least there'll be this particular day in the month that I will have to sit down and think, ‘So what did I do last month? What did I listen to? What did I read? What the hell happened to my plants?’”

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation and get access to the sponsor-free version of The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

If you’d like to participate in the next round of Community Selections, sign up for our newsletter. We’ll be sending a special Slowdown postcard to new subscribers that sign up this week. Subscribe at slowdownshow.org/newsletter

Today’s poem is Articulation of Solace by Yongyu Chen.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I’ve read a lot of books over the years, and some have fundamentally changed not only the way I write but the way I think. I mean books that broke everything wide open for me, showing me possibilities — in form, and in content — that I couldn’t access before. Today’s poem impacted me like those beloved texts, with its jewellike sentences and its use of the field of the page.”

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Power your daily dose of poetry at Slowdownshow.org/donate

Today’s poem is Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Wherever you live, you don’t have to be nice. But please be kind. We need more genuine, altruistic kindness in this world. So, how can you be more kind? By helping others without being performative about it, and without needing recognition. By letting people know you’re thinking of them, by reaching out when you know someone is struggling, and by practicing simple acts of kindness: holding a door open, letting someone go ahead of you in line, offering a sincere compliment. And one more thing: You can take in the wisdom of today’s poem and pass it along.”

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Power your daily dose of poetry at Slowdownshow.org/donate

Today’s poem is Nobody's Job by Ronna Bloom.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “We call an ending “resonant” because it does what a bell does: After it’s rung, the vibration lingers. It reverberates. It sticks with you long after you’ve read the piece, humming in your head. Today’s poem is beautiful start to finish, but the ending astonished me. It moved me to tears, which caught me by surprise! If you don’t know this poem, I’m envious that you get to experience it for the first time.”

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Power your daily dose of poetry at Slowdownshow.org/donate