1528: Isobutyl Nitrite by Kieron Walquist

Today’s poem is Cheap Magic by Arielle Hebert.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “When we wear a costume, or even an uncharacteristic outfit, it’s possible to let go of the expectations other people set for us. Sometimes disappearing into another identity makes you more of yourself, not less. Being inside a persona might make you freer, not more constrained.” 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

Today’s poem is At the End of a Good Week, the Van Broke Down by Mary Ardery. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Poetry, instead of asking questions like How did I get here? or What should I do? often deals more with the senses. Questions like What did it look like? How does it sound, taste, feel? Questions that ask us to witness. Much of the advice we receive assumes we have a level of control. But life doesn’t always work like that. We’re so often rolling with the punches, trying to hold our sorrows, or, to wring out a little pleasure and joy along the way.” 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

Today’s poem is Prayer for My Unborn Niece or Nephew by Ross Gay. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Hope — earnest hope — is something we all need more to combat the cruelty and cynicism of these times we’re enduring. Today’s poem is filled to the brim with 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

Today’s poem is Isobutyl Nitrite by Kieron Walquist.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “In today’s poem, the speaker feels something awaken in him while watching the film “Remember the Titans.” The poem weaves together the pain and the beauty of desire, which can become so knotted in our teen years. It leaves the reader a little breathless, like only a crush can.”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

Today’s poem is Native Grasses by Lynnell Edwards. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “When my son was younger, he loved to collect what he called “nature treasures” — pinecones, acorns, stones, seashells. I’d find them when I emptied his pockets, doing the laundry. I’d find them in my purses and coat pockets, where he’d slipped them for me to discover myself. He’s in middle school now, and he’s outgrown this for the most part. But not entirely. Sometimes he still brings me a wildflower, an unusual feather, or a stone he notices. And as a little wink and a nod to his younger self, he still calls them “nature treasures.”” 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

Today’s poem is Missing by Mary Morris.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Maybe it’s possible to have a welcome haunting. To open ourselves up to visitors, and to seek their company, however they are able to make themselves known. Seeing — or even seeking out — signs from deceased loved ones helps people who are grieving feel more connected and less alone.” 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

Today’s poem is The Burning Kite by Ouyang Jianghe, translated by Austin Woerner. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Every once in a while, a poem comes along with imagery so startling, phrasing so original, I have to read it several times in a row to be sure I’m taking it all in. Today’s poem is one of them.” 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

Today’s poem is Coral, Again by Juliana Spahr. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “When we talk about the health of ocean ecosystems, I often hear the phrase “existential threat.” It’s a phrase that sounds massive. Because it is! It’s something so big that it’s hard to know what to do, how to make the right choices, as just one person. Today’s poem probes those depths and finds an endless possibility of existence in the relationships between tiny beings.” 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

Today’s poem is The Village by Marc Harshman. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “A decade or so ago, I had the privilege of co-teaching a couple of workshops with the poet Stanley Plumly. He’d always say, in workshops, “exploit your territory.” He encouraged writers to lean into the regional instead of running from it. I now tell my students the same thing: Be exactly who you are, and be from where you’re from unapologetically. Show us that life. Tell us those stories. And let your people speak. Today’s poem exploits its territory — and does it masterfully.” 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

Today’s poem is The Long Run by Linda Gregerson. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I have to remain optimistic — cautiously optimistic, because these are difficult days — that as we know better, we will do better. That we will learn from our mistakes and the mistakes of our forebearers, and that we will repair what we can, despite the harm we humans continue to do.” 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