1335: [encore] Bonfire Opera by Danusha Laméris

Today’s poem is Bonfire Opera by Danusha Laméris. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this encore episode, Maggie writes… “Yes, I have new lines around my eyes and new glints of silver in my hair, but my body continues to surprise me in wonderful ways, too. It brings me a lot of pleasure—maybe even more pleasure than it did when I was in my teens, twenties, and even thirties. Because I appreciate it. And because I am less self-conscious. That is one of the gifts of aging: Becoming more yourself, and caring less about what others think about you or expect from you.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

Today’s poem is Étude by Amy Gerstler. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this encore episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem is a celebration of sound, and also a celebration of our own power to interpret sound and make meaning—as poets do. Poems, like songs, are meant to live in the air. They are their own music.”This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

Today’s poem is Dream Song 1 by John Berryman, with special guest David Duchovny. You know him from his breakout role as Fox Mulder on The X-Files, as well as appearances on other hit series like Californication and Twin Peaks. Here’s an extended conversation with David that we hope you enjoy.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, David shares… “I remember when I first read "Dream Song 1" by John Berryman in high school. I think I understood that I was coming out of the Eden of childhood in a way and having these complicated thoughts, more complicated thoughts than I'd had as a child. And not that I would've put it in words that I just put it in now, but there was a loss involved that was moving to me.”This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

Today’s poem is Dream Song 1 by John Berryman, with special guest David Duchovny. You know him from his breakout role as Fox Mulder on The X-Files, as well as appearances on other hit series like Californication and Twin Peaks. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, David shares… “Every day is a loss. We can focus on love and focus on positives, but the fact is we're living in time, and things are being stripped away from us constantly. And it can lead to either depression or to valuing things — it just depends on your psychology, your worldview, the rigorousness of your yearning to want to be on the positive side of things and not depress yourself too much.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

Today’s poem is Crossing the Line by E. Ethelbert Miller. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem reads to me like a love poem, a tribute, to a long friendship. It reminds me that part of how we know ourselves is through the people who know us best, and who have loved us through our changes.”This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

Today’s poem is Earth Shovel by Dan Albergotti. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem, which looks at the fragility of our planet, begins with two epigraphs. One is from American astronomer Carl Sagan, from his book Pale Blue Dot. The other is the famous line from politician Michael Steele.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

Today’s poem is Lotioning My Mother’s Back by Ama Codjoe. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “The world feels like a hard place right now—a not very soft and tender place. In times that feel difficult, it’s tempting to retreat, to harden ourselves, to “numb out.” But I think, more and more, that tenderness is what we need—toward one another, and toward ourselves. We need touch. We need connection. We need soft places to land. We need to hold on to one another.”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 at the baggage claim in JFK by Lo Naylor. This episode was originally released on April 24, 2026.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “When I’m preparing for a multi-city book tour, I’m not nervous about reading in front of people or answering questions or finding my way around a strange place. I’m nervous about getting where I’m going. And with somewhat regular government shutdowns impacting TSA these days, those nerves aren’t coming from nowhere! But there are so many beautiful moments in airports, if you pay attention: parents comforting children, or occupying them with silly games; couples excited to be going on a trip together; teams of uniformed student athletes traveling to, or from, a big game.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

Today’s poem is Hackberry by Cecily Parks. This episode was originally released on January 29, 2026.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem is a kind of love poem—to a beloved tree, and to the sense of home it created.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

Today’s poem is Panegyric by Leila Farjami. This episode was originally released on July 28, 2026.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