Because that is all it is. by Maggie Devers

Because that is all it is. by Maggie Devers

Author: Maggie Devers June 5, 2025 Duration: 2:27

Because that is all it is.

Maggie Devers

I want to know your process
So I can make it with you
The way you sketch until your nails are packed with graphite
And your warm hands smell of wood shavings and masking tape
I could hold them to my nose and die happy

I want to know how you change
So I can be there with you
As you chop off your hair
Let your eyebrows grow wilder and abandon heels for Birks.
Even your feet are now free

Tell me what makes your heart grow
And mine will grow too
How you smell the top of a baby’s head watching the sun dip over the ocean.
There’s a margarita with salt in your hand
And the lime stings at your cuticle, but it’s a good hurt.

Show me the hidden parts of you
So I can see all of you
The way you shield yourself from criticism
Even your own. How you fight for everyone
But yourself. How you believe these parts are more hidden than they are.

Know I am here for the process.

More from Maggie Devers ↓


Mentioned in this episode:

Write After: National Poetry Month with One Poem Only

Write After is a way to encourage poets to listen and write, and use National Poetry Month to highlight how listening to poetry makes us better poets. I know I write the best when I’m surrounded by beautiful poetry–it’s part of the reason I created this podcast, and I want to encourage others to share this practice. We'll get started in April. You can share to #WriteAfterOPO.

#WriteAfterOPO


Each day, One Poem Only offers a brief, deliberate pause. Hosted by Maggie Devers, this podcast is built on a simple, consistent premise: a single poem, read aloud, without analysis or introduction. It’s an audio space where the words themselves are the event, a performance meant to be absorbed in the few minutes it takes to hear it. The daily rhythm of the show creates a quiet ritual, a point of reflection woven into a busy life. You might hear a classic sonnet, a piece of modern free verse, or a work from a poet you’ve never encountered. The selection is varied, touching on themes from the natural world to the intricacies of human emotion, always leaving room for your own interpretation. The effect is cumulative; listening regularly becomes a subtle form of education in the sound and scope of poetry, and a small act of self-care. This isn't a lecture or a book club, but a performing art delivered directly to your ears. Maggie’s clear, thoughtful readings provide the only framework needed, allowing each poem to stand entirely on its own. The curtain falls, and the moment passes, but the podcast invites you to return tomorrow when a new piece takes center stage, offering another quiet moment, one poem only.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 355

One Poem Only
Podcast Episodes
Baby Book by Maggie Devers - For My Daughter [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10
Baby BookMaggie DeversI didn’t make my daughter a baby book,I wrote her weird poems instead.I can hear her explaining this to her friends,“There’s no scrapbook full of memoriesBut there is a special poem about me being A…
“I dreamt I was in Paris” by Jen Booton [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:42
“I dreamt I was in Paris” Jen Booton I dreamt I was in Paris scents of coffee and absinthe wafting as olfactory wind chimes typewriters snug on Boulevard Montparnasse tables peppered with burgeoning authors lost among th…
Of Course by Maggie Devers - For My Daughter [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:52
Of CourseMaggie DeversHer feet were purple when she was born,The cord pinned between her shoulder and me.Half a dozen extra doctors and nurses had converged in the room moments before,All of me open to all of themAs my d…
“My poetry has big bones” by Bex [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:22
“My poetry has big bones” Bex My poetry has big bones And big ideas tooShe wears vintage lace And she remembers every time she was slipped on... Poetry smokes green in the grass with her lover and dissects the sun for sh…
First Blood by Maggie Devers - For My Daughter [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:44
First Blood Maggie Devers I remember the first blood of her,The implant blood they call it.It was possible I was pregnant,We had laughed about it in Malta a few days and half a world away ago,Sitting on our private balco…
“as the ground begins to frost” by esso [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:59
“as the ground begins to frost” esso as the ground begins to frost we snuggle in heavier cloth to live out shortbread days laden in chocolate, lavender & cedar-smoke hugging hooded hours to soothe broken & healing layers…
For My Daughter - Title Poem [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:30
For My Daughter Maggie Devers Chop off my head and put it on your shield.I will protect you until the day I dieAnd all the days after that.You think I would let anything harm the perfection that sprang from my body?That…
my throat makes by atm.itm [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:28
my throat makes atm.itm corridors into cloth carries shimmering light i have forgotten how fabric can be light as light stitches from hands i have not met rest lightly on my shoulder it is the words hard to say that stic…
For My Daughter Audiobook Intro [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:42
The audiobook of For My Daughter releases 12-12. Listen to a poem a day from the book by subscribing to One Poem Only.
Timeline by Quinn Holm [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:23
Timeline Quinn Holm I wrote Spring in WinterI wrote Winter in Summerand Fall somewhere in betweenthe changing weatherThe nature in me has its own seasonsI’m not afraid of being forgottenfor my being needs no outside opin…