The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. This encore episode was originally released on January 20, 2026.

Today’s poem is The Long Now by Robin Beth Schaer.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem addresses a child—a child full of questions about the world. It reminds me that as parents, we don’t need to have the answers, and we don’t need to pretend to have them. Instead we can listen, stay open, and honor our kids’ curiosity and wonder. Honor the poets and philosophers that they are.”

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The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. This encore episode was originally released on September 18, 2026.

Today’s poem is Rancho Bar by Margot Kahn.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem looks, tenderly, at two siblings attempting to close the distance between them. The poem is made even more poignant by the fact that its setting, a bar in California, has since burned down in a wildfire.”

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. This encore episode was originally released on August 28, 2025.

Today’s poem is From the Sky by Sara Abou Rashed.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “When I think about ways to foster empathy, perspective, and care, one of those ways is poetry. I know poetry can’t stop bombs from falling, and it can’t feed the starving, and it can’t evacuate people to safety. I know this. But poetry can change our inner world. We need that change, one person at a time. We need to reclaim our humanity.”

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. This encore episode was originally released on February 25, 2026.

Today’s poem is Somewhere Else by Adam J. Gellings.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I was born at 4:30 in the afternoon on a cold Sunday in February. All of this is either useless information — time of day, day of the week, month of the year — or it’s part of our own myth-making.”

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The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. Today’s encore episode was originally released on February 27, 2026.

Today’s poem is Poem about everything except— by Amy Lemmon.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I was drawn to today’s poem from the get-go because of its title: ”Poem about everything except—.” I went in anticipating maximalism — “everything but the kitchen sink,” as the saying goes, and the poem delivered.”

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate