CAUTION: STUDENT DRIVER by Carly Thompson | One Poem Only

CAUTION: STUDENT DRIVER by Carly Thompson | One Poem Only

Author: Maggie Devers April 8, 2026 Duration: 1:40

One Poem Only is a daily ritual: one poem, center stage, just for now.

CAUTION: STUDENT DRIVER

Carly Thompson

I’ve jumped out of the boat
the churning water turns to smoke
my mind is a black sand beach
the world is one of those where time is different
slow, fast, all at once, almost never
if a window doesn’t open, is it a wall?
is it even there?
the cows die all at once and we don’t ask why
we buy sheep instead, not for milk for wool
it is not enough to be called sad and beautiful
remarkable or terrifying
it is not enough to pick up the phone
to text back, to cry on cue
I hover over that plane where one highway
meets another, no one ever taught me to merge

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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
Sunday Recap & Suck It In by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:48
Here’s your recap of this week’s poems plus one new poem to carry us into the week ahead.On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs by Renée Nicole Good. She was murdered by ICE on January 7, 2026. In 2020, she won the undergradu…
The Tender Descending by Ellie Augustin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:48
The Tender DescendingEllie AugustinThe earth exhales and everything slows.The trees remember what it means to be bare.We gather what warmth remains in our handsand stitch our dreams beneath quiet skies.Each flake that la…
Part Oracle, Part Warrior by Aslam [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:20
part oracle, part warrior Aslam a crescent moon, hangs like a scaron her shoulder’s silence.her lips sealedby vow or violence.her eyes do not ask.they know.they have watched empires bleedon blades of their own lies.she s…
On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs by Renée Nicole Good [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:42
On Learning to Dissect Fetal PigsRenée Nicole GoodThis poem was awarded the Academy of American Poets Prize in 2020.i want back my rocking chairs,solipsist sunsets,& coastal jungle sounds that are tercets from cicadas an…
Genesis of Her by Kiran Ashraf [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:02
Genesis of HerKiran AshrafHer body is like a powerful tidelooming in an ever-flowing motionchewing on her emotions like riceshe aches to read in sheltering armswearing her chaos for a better lifeher skin is a wild thing…
Transmorphing by Özge Lena [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:16
TransmorphingÖzge LenaThis Poem was commended for Winged Muse Poetry Competition of Winged Moon Literary MagazineAfter Harpy by Valerie HammondIn seven nights she will burstinto nothing. Now all alone in a creamcoloured…
To Fall Is to Begin by Irina Vérène [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:56
To Fall Is to BeginIrina Vérènei won’t be draggedpast the pearly gates—i’ll leave of my own volition.with these heavenly rulesstifling my breath,i must say,it seems a wise decision.amidst the flamesand the curling smoke,…
Becoming Again by Reya [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:47
Becoming AgainReyaI didn’t rise like fire —I rose like forgiveness.Lost me once, still trying,sky’s the limit, I’m craving the climb.Thoughts that once broke menow make me alive again.Words find me, like a heart reborn —…
Sunday Recap & Crawl Space by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:56
Here’s your recap of this week’s poems plus one new poem to carry us into the week ahead.Dec 29 - Eclipse of the Self by Ruvaani @ruvaani.unclaimed on Instagram. Her book, The Sunken Daffodil, is out now.Dec 30 - Cold Pl…