1496: Love Song to the Alpacas of Solomon Lane by Kenzie Allen

Today’s poem is Love Song to the Alpacas of Solomon Lane by Kenzie Allen. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I have a soft spot for poems that center animals, and there are many such poems. I’m thinking about the horse in James Wright’s famous poem, “A Blessing.” I’m thinking about the poor dead goat in Brigit Pegeen Kelly’s poem “Song,” which might just be my favorite poem of all time. (It’s so hard to choose just one!)” 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 Pathway by Paula Bohince. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “What if we saw turning to community not as a sign of weakness, but as a sign of wealth — an acknowledgement that we are so rich with support, so rich with friendship. And beyond that, I think of community as being broader than just people. Isn’t place part of community? The creatures, the landscape, the trees and plants. When I feel grounded in a place, I have a sense of being held. You can see love everywhere if you look closely enough.” 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 Graduation by Edgar Kunz. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem reminds me that even when distance is necessary — or imposed — love and memory are tethers that are elastic. They stretch to accommodate separation. And if we’re lucky, they stretch as needed but don’t snap.” 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 Stadium by Heather Tone. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Meditation on death awareness, called maranasati, is one of the oldest practices in all Buddhist traditions. It may seem morbid to make a practice from contemplating your own death while you’re still alive, but the idea of your death is probably affecting the way you live.” 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 Community by Emily Bright. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I want our house to be a place where anyone can be themselves and know they are with people who care about them, people they can trust. I want my friends and my kids’ friends to feel safe and comfortable, to relax and have fun, and to leave feeling ready to face the world outside, which isn’t always as warm and welcoming as I’d like it to be. Today’s poem is about how the small things we offer one another — meals, conversation, a soft place to land — are not small at all. They’re everything.” 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 plum you're going to eat next summer by Gayle Brandeis. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I know optimism can be a tough sell when there’s so much suffering, so much difficulty, in the world. But this brokenness is exactly why we need more poems, more paintings, more films, more plays. More art. To make things that don’t exist yet — and don’t need to exist, because that is the very definition of art — and to send them out into the world is wildly, impractically, gorgeously hopeful.”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 Smalltown Lift by Brian Blanchfield.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “One of the most challenging things about being in a relationship, especially a new one, is communication. I’ve certainly been guilty of doing what some of you listening have probably done, too: not saying how I feel, not asking for what I want, not being clear in my communication. When we don’t say what’s on our minds, it’s usually out of fear — fear of being rejected, of upsetting the other person, of blowing the whole thing up. You might not share music you love or activities you enjoy if you think they’ll be judged as uncool; you might try to play it safe and not show too much of your true, quirky self.” 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 Sonnet Overheard at Phone Booth by Elane Kim. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “The sonnet has survived multiple centuries by always adapting. In a contemporary sonnet, poets are altering its shape and rethinking what the container can hold. Women in particular have transformed the formal tradition of the sonnet in America — poets like Wanda Coleman, who invented the unrhymed American Sonnet. Other women who helped transform the contemporary sonnet are Gwendolyn Brooks, Rita Dove, Patricia Smith, Monica Youn, and Diane Seuss. Today’s poet is part of this tradition. If a sonnet is about turning to the unexpected, then the poet takes it further by looking in unexpected places.” 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 Anniversary by Edward Salem. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Cemeteries are peaceful, reverent places, and yet they’re places I don’t visit regularly — not unless I’m birding, apparently. If I want to feel close to someone I’ve lost, I’m more likely to look at photos, or tell stories, or listen to songs that remind me of them. And yes, I’m likely to write about them. That’s part of how I honor their memory and keep them close.” 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 Problem With Early Warnings by Charles Rafferty. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “You’ve probably heard the boiling frog theory. It goes like this: If a frog is dropped into a pot of tepid water that is slowly heated, the creature won’t perceive the danger until it’s too late — when the water is finally boiling, and it’s cooked to death. But if a frog is dropped directly into boiling water, it will jump out immediately, saving itself. I don’t need to tell you that in this analogy, we’re the frog. We’re in hot water that keeps getting hotter. So why aren’t more of us jumping? Why are we slow to react? This analogy suggests that it’s because the water didn’t start out boiling. We’ve been slowly acclimating to the increase in temperature — or rather, the increase in danger.” 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