904: The Statues and Us

Today’s poem is The Statues and Us by Yannis Ritsos, translated by Martin McKinsey. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “My life is a constant stream of deadlines, such that I am forever trying to fit in what I love most — writing poetry. When I worked in the corporate finance office of a popular clothing retail store, I worked a regular 9-5. Back then, my life was more structured, and poetry bookended my days. I arose in the dark of morning and scribbled opening lines that would unfold into a larger piece. Light spread across the sky and only birdsong could be heard. I miss those days. When did writing poetry become something that I “fit in”? Trust me; I find meaning in all of my activities, work-related or domestic. But only one satiates this ongoing spirit of becoming, which is what creating is about. In that solitude, with each poem I wrote, I saw myself more clearly. ” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Om Podcasten

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.