The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

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1422: Dear Delinquent by Ann Townsend Dec 29, 2025

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Today’s poem is Dear Delinquent by Ann Townsend.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “It’s exciting to know that I can dive deep into another human being and never touch bottom. I will never know everything there is to know. If I’m lucky, I’ll get to spend many years with the people I love, learning as much as I can, and watching them grow and change, and being surprised and delighted by them! If I’m lucky, I’ll continue to change, too, and the people who love me will be surprised and delighted by those changes.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

1421: My 1994 by Stephanie Burt Dec 26, 2025

Show notes

Today’s poem is My 1994 by Stephanie Burt.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “In 1994 I was seventeen: my daughter’s age! I remember that as a time when I was trying to figure out who I was. But to some degree we’re always trying to figure that out, aren’t we?”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

1420: Losing the Band by Ashley D. Escobar Dec 25, 2025

Show notes

Today’s poem is Losing the Band by Ashley D. Escobar.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “It’s Christmas, and though I’ll see a lot of people I love today, I won’t see everyone I love. That’s the thing about traditions. They put us in certain places with certain people, and we’re lucky for that, but only so many people can fit into a living room or around a dining table. Only so many of our loved ones live close by or can travel to us for the holidays. There are some people we just…miss.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

1419: Ladies' Arm Wrestling Match at the Blue Moon Diner by Jenny Johnson Dec 24, 2025

Show notes

Today’s poem is Ladies' Arm Wrestling Match at the Blue Moon Diner by Jenny Johnson.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem begins with a little advice that made me smile because of its sauciness, and the poem unfolds into such a rich, detailed portrait — not a portrait of a lady, but of ladies, shedding old expectations and claiming new power.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

1418: Whitetail in the Rain Moving About by Melissa Ginsburg Dec 23, 2025

Show notes

Today’s poem is Whitetail in the Rain Moving About by Melissa Ginsburg.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem moves quietly and deliberately, the way a cautious deer might walk from the shelter of the woods into a clearing. I love the sounds of this poem, and its pacing.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

1417: My Mother's Love by James Allen Hall Dec 22, 2025

Show notes

Today’s poem is My Mother's Love by James Allen Hall.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem is a testament to a mother’s love and courage and fierce protection. Maybe the real measure of a person is what they do for people — or creatures — who cannot do anything for them in return. Love is not transactional. Love, like poetry, is a gift economy.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Bonus Episode: Maggie Smith on This Old House Radio Hour Dec 20, 2025

Show notes

Today, we have a bonus episode for you: an excerpt of This Old House Radio Hour, featuring our very own Maggie Smith. She takes listeners inside the 100-year-old house that has carried her family through every chapter. If you’d like to hear more of “This Old House Radio Hour,” you can listen to past episodes at thisoldhouse.com/radiohour and follow the show wherever you get your podcasts.

1416: Nursery by Kiki Petrosino Dec 19, 2025

Show notes

Today’s poem is Nursery by Kiki Petrosino.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem draws on the language of fairy tales and the strange, sometimes inexplicable things that happen in these stories. After all, strange, sometimes inexplicable things happen in life, too.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

1415: Elephants Born Without Tusks by Alison C. Rollins Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

Today’s poem is Elephants Born Without Tusks by Allison C. Rollins.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “It’s one thing to think about animals that have evolved to adapt to their habitats: maybe they are camouflaged from predators, or they develop physical traits to help them withstand the elements. But what about humans? We have the ability to live anywhere, thanks to human technologies. We’ve built a society that protects us from natural predators—except for other humans, that is. So what kind of evolution might help us survive in these dangerous times?I thought about this question, and I didn’t like the answers. I suppose the way to survive in a country that fears difference is to repress difference—to look, and to become, more like the people in charge. The way to survive in a capitalist system that values profits above mutual aid is to become greedier. But surviving like this feels like a de-evolution. It’s the opposite of progress.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

1414: This dark is the same dark as when you close by R.A. Villanueva Dec 17, 2025

Show notes

Today’s poem is by R.A. Villanueva.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem is one about parents and children, bedtime fears, and the ways we communicate love and safety. It references a lyric from a song I love: ‘Not Strong Enough’ by the band boygenius.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

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