1567: Assistance by Abbie Kiefer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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