1496: Love Song to the Alpacas of Solomon Lane by Kenzie Allen
2026-04-17 | 6 min.
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
1495: Pathway by Paula Bohince
2026-04-16 | 6 min.
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
1494: Graduation by Edgar Kunz
2026-04-15 | 6 min.
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
1493: Stadium by Heather Tone
2026-04-14 | 6 min.
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
1492: Community by Emily Bright
2026-04-13 | 5 min.
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
Host Maggie Smith is your daily poetry companion. Poetry is one of the greatest tools we have to wield our own attention — to consider our own lives and the lives of others, to help us live creatively and compassionately, to use that attention to lean into wonder, and joy, and truth, and to find hope — to keep hoping. The Slowdown community knows that reflecting on a poem, every weekday, can connect us to our inner world and the world around us. Listen as you make your morning coffee, as you go on a walk in your neighborhood, as you pull away from the to-do list, as you resist the dismal, endless scroll to share five minutes of perspective through the lens of poetry, from poets old and new, well-loved and emerging onto the scene. Brought to you by American Public Media, in partnership with the Poetry Foundation.
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