The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

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  [encore] 1355: Rancho Bar by Margot Kahn 19.08.2026 5min

  The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. This encore episode was originally released on September 18, 2026.Today’s poem is Rancho Bar by Margot Kahn.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem looks, tenderly, at two siblings attempting to close the distance between them. The poem is made even more poignant by the fact that its setting, a bar in California, has since burned down in a wildfire.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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  [encore] 1340: From the Sky by Sara Abou Rashed 18.08.2026 6min

  The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. This encore episode was originally released on August 28, 2025.Today’s poem is From the Sky by Sara Abou Rashed. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “When I think about ways to foster empathy, perspective, and care, one of those ways is poetry. I know poetry can’t stop bombs from falling, and it can’t feed the starving, and it can’t evacuate people to safety. I know this. But poetry can change our inner world. We need that change, one person at a time. We need to reclaim our humanity.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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  [encore] 1464: Somewhere Else by Adam J. Gellings 17.08.2026 5min

  The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. This encore episode was originally released on February 25, 2026.Today’s poem is Somewhere Else by Adam J. Gellings. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I was born at 4:30 in the afternoon on a cold Sunday in February. All of this is either useless information — time of day, day of the week, month of the year — or it’s part of our own myth-making.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
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  [encore] 1466: Poem about everything except— by Amy Lemmon 14.08.2026 6min

  The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. Today’s encore episode was originally released on February 27, 2026.Today’s poem is Poem about everything except— by Amy Lemmon.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I was drawn to today’s poem from the get-go because of its title: ”Poem about everything except—.” I went in anticipating maximalism — “everything but the kitchen sink,” as the saying goes, and the poem delivered.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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  [encore] 1482: XII. Southern Constellations by Brandon Kilbourne 13.08.2026 5min

  The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. Today’s encore episode was originally released on March 30, 2026.Today’s poem is XII. Southern Constellations by Brandon Kilbourne. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “No matter where I am in the world, no matter what beautiful landscape I might find myself in, no matter what new experience I might be having, I feel the pull of home. I don’t mean home as in place. I mean home as in people.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
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  [encore] 1410: Go by Kathleen Ossip 12.08.2026 6min

  The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. Today’s encore episode was originally released on December 4, 2025.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.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
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  [encore] 1387: Different Kinds of Sadness by Jenny Molberg 11.08.2026 5min

  The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. Today’s encore episode was originally released on November 3, 2025.Today’s poem is Different Kinds of Sadness by Jenny Molberg.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “When I lost my joy, my generous friends were there. It can be so hard to accept help from others, especially if you pride yourself on being self-sufficient, but I took them up on their offers of meals, and company, and advice. And I’m so glad I did, because these things were all lifesaving. All of these things, in their own ways, helped me close some wounds. All, in their own ways, restarted my heart.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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  [encore] 1469: Pardon My Heart by Marcus Jackson 10.08.2026 5min

  The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. Today’s encore episode was originally released on March 4, 2026. Today’s poem is Pardon My Heart by Marcus Jackson. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “If I had a different kind of heart, a tougher heart, would I be able to see what’s happening in the world around me and not feel so brokenhearted? What would it be like to be able to sleep through the night, unbothered? I can’t imagine feeling less, or caring less. That’s not the heart I have.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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  1576: What I Am Telling You, Jessica, Is That Those Chickens Are Fine by K.T. Landon 07.08.2026 7min

  Today’s poem is What I Am Telling You, Jessica, Is That Those Chickens Are Fine by K.T. Landon.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Several of our neighbors have backyard coops, and occasionally we’re offered fresh eggs. Unfortunately, the raccoons and possums (and maybe even a fox) have encountered the chickens, too. There are fewer now.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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  1575: ode to the afternoon by Zeina Hashem Beck 06.08.2026 7min

  Today’s poem is ode to the afternoon by Zeina Hashem Beck.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “‘Que Sera Sera’ is a song I remember my mother singing when I was small. Which is fitting, as the song opens with these words: ‘When I was just a little girl I asked my mother what will I be.’ I remember part of the chorus well: ‘Que Sera Sera, whatever will be, will be, the future’s not ours to see.’” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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  1574: Black Fairy Tale by Elizabeth Spires 05.08.2026 6min

  Today’s poem is Black Fairy Tale by Elizabeth Spires. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “When I was old enough, I found my way to the collected Brothers Grimm, but even then I wasn’t quite old enough for the violence I found inside. Cinderella’s sisters butchered their own feet to try to fit into the glass slipper! That bloody plot detail certainly wasn’t in the Disney movie with the cute mice and birds who made Cinderella a dress from fabric scraps.Today’s poem conjures that dark, fantastical world of fairy tales.”This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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  1573: Dialogue with the Oldest Tree in the U.S., whose Location is a Closely-Guarded Forest Service Secret by Nina Sudhakar 04.08.2026 7min

  Today’s poem is Dialogue with the Oldest Tree in the U.S., whose Location is a Closely-Guarded Forest Service Secret by Nina Sudhakar.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I like to think that I’m still growing as a person. That every year I become older, I truly grow older, developing some new part of myself. Conversations about aging so often dwell on preserving what you have when you’re young, about postponing loss. But when I turn to my writing, my poems and prose, I see a body of work that does continue to grow. A body that comes from my physical body, from how my whole being senses and processes the world around me. It continues to grow, even when marked by hardship, by absences, and by loss.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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  1572: Summer Strawberries by Cat Wei 03.08.2026 5min

  Today’s poem is Summer Strawberries by Cat Wei. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “We move through life with so many doors opening and closing all around us. One of the gifts and burdens of being human is being aware of time, and impermanence, and our own mortality. That awareness keeps us grateful for what we have, but it can also make us fearful to lose what we have. Sometimes, as we see in today’s poem, it’s difficult not to wonder if life will go on as expected, and if traditions will continue, or if we’re experiencing the end of an era. But still, there are ways to find presence in the uncertainty.”This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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  1571: Guava Jelly by Quinn Franzen 31.07.2026 6min

  Today’s poem is Guava Jelly by Quinn Franzen.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Sometimes, as we see in today’s poem, even when things are difficult, even just the smallest bit of sweetness helps.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today.Slowdownshow.org/donate
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  1570: Wabi-Sabi by Catherine Esposito Prescott 30.07.2026 6min

  Today’s poem is Wabi-Sabi by Catherine Esposito Prescott. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem invites us to celebrate what is, rather than what could be — so it invites us to accept ourselves exactly as we are.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today.Slowdownshow.org/donate
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  1569: Someday by Mary Oliver 29.07.2026 6min

  Today’s poem is Someday by Mary Oliver. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “You have one of our listeners to thank for today’s poem — well, one of our listeners for suggesting it, and the beloved Mary Oliver for writing it.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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  1568: Panegyric by Leila Farjami 28.07.2026 6min

  Today’s poem is Panegyric by Leila Farjami. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Poems that engage with war and grief are texts that communicate to us in ways that news articles about war, and loss, and grief cannot. An article might tell us what happened, who died, how many casualties there were. It should provide facts as to who, what, where, when, and how. It might even attempt the why. But a poem sings to us. A poem sits with us. Holds us, even.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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  1567: Assistance by Abbie Kiefer 27.07.2026 6min

  Today’s poem is Assistance by Abbie Kiefer. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I famously have a brown thumb, as they call it. For as much as I love trees and appreciate flowers when I see them, I haven’t thought to plant and tend to them myself. For as much as I love fresh cucumber and zucchini and herbs, I’ve never planted them. Maybe someday that will change. Maybe someday gardening will call to me and be just what I need. In today’s poem, gardening is exactly what the speaker needs.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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  1566: What I Wanted to Keep Private by Melissa Crowe 24.07.2026 6min

  Today’s poem is What I Wanted to Keep Private by Melissa Crowe.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I think self-compassion is the most challenging kind of compassion. We are so hard on ourselves, aren’t we? We humans carry around so much guilt and shame. We ruminate about breakups and arguments. We think about the things we said in anger that we wish we could take back. We think about the things we didn’t say and wish we had. We replay the past despite being unable to change it.The speaker of today’s poem confesses something — and in doing so, with self-compassion and self-forgiveness, sets it down.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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  1565: bilingual by Mckendy Fils-Aimé 23.07.2026 6min

  Today’s poem is bilingual by Mckendy Fils-Aimé. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “You know we love language at The Slowdown. We spend time every weekday celebrating the power of words! And language isn’t just a tool for communication or self-expression, it’s a part of who we are. Language and culture are deeply intertwined. Language connects us to our elders and to previous generations. It connects us to our homeland, no matter how far away it may be. It connects us to our roots.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate