The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

Today’s poem is Young Widow at the Kitchen Window by Donna Spruijt-Metz.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “We know holidays and anniversaries will be difficult: Mother’s Day after you lose your mom, birthdays after your loved one is gone, Thanksgiving with the family around the table and some beloveds missing. We know this pain.But grief isn’t something we can schedule. It’s not reserved for certain days or times. Grief sneaks up on us in the smaller moments. Or, maybe it doesn’t sneak up on us at all, because it’s been with us all along. It may feel like a rogue wave breaking over us, knocking us down, leaving us gasping — but really it’s the water we swim in, day in and day out. That may sound like a dark, depressing thought, but I don’t think of it that way. Grief is with us all the time because love is with us all the time. Grief touches every part of our lives, because love touches every part of our lives. The more you love someone, the more you grieve their absence.”

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Today’s poem is Return Path by Lesley Wheeler.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “The multiple repetitions and the circular nature of the villanelle make it a good form for poems that grapple with an insistent memory, an unresolved emotion, or a feeling of being trapped. But the form can be a container for any kind of subject matter in which repetition feels essential. So much of life is repetition, after all, isn’t it? We perform the same actions again and again, day after day. This might sound mundane, but when repetition is reverent, it also forms rituals — repetitions which give our lives meaning. Today’s poem is a villanelle, and its use of the word ‘circuit’ makes the repetition especially apropos.”

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Today’s poem is Listening to Vespertine for Twenty Hours Straight by Derrick Austin.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “If you’re lucky, you have friends who might sense the shift in your emotional weather: the clouds rolling in, the sky darkening. If you’re very lucky, those friends might know what to do without being asked or prompted. They might come over with takeout and offer a listening ear. They might pick you up and take you to the movies or to a concert, to get you out of your bubble. Or maybe they come over and just simply exist with you. Maybe sitting next to you, maybe watching TV, maybe not talking at all, all without expecting you to be cheerful or even sociable. Their presence is calming in itself. Their unconditional love and acceptance, even when you’re not sparkling.”

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Today’s poem is So Much Space for Song by James Crews.

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 Rekha from Washington, D.C.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Rekha reflects… “Today's poem shows us that we are part of nature. We always tend to think of birds and animals and insects sort of as nature abstracted, but they're just like us.”

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.

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Today’s poem is Gratification to the survivors of daily damnations by Oladejo Abdullah Feranmi.

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 Abdulmueed from Oyo, Nigeria.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Abdulmueed reflects… “Today's poem is an invitation for you to live more freely. The poem urges us to take a pause in our day-to-day activities to reflect on our lives, to look around us, experience the little things despite all odds.” 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.