First Draft by Jo Wright | One Poem Only

First Draft by Jo Wright | One Poem Only

Author: Maggie Devers March 30, 2026 Duration: 1:56

One Poem Only is a daily poetry podcast offering a quiet moment with a single poem—read aloud, without analysis or noise.

First Draft

Jo Wright

I don’t want AI.
I want bees and seas
Deep evergreen forests
Great honeycombs
Icecaps.
Just, knowledgeable lovers
Men needing others
People questioning rhetoric
Speaking truth
Understanding Vaccinations
A world where we exclude no one
Years where there is still ozone.
I want words to matter
And when I draft my patter
I don’t want my phone to ask
‘Can I rewrite that for you?’
I want credit where credit’s bloody due
And throwing that swear word in
Stops Google taking the line from you.
I want water poured into humanity
Until everyone’s cup is full
Until this thief clad in microchips
Burns itself out.
I want precisely zero of your excuses
Wailing viciously under this sky
Retreat quietly please
Out to no man’s land
Keeping jealous ignorance of
How generosity feeds
Everyone’s delicate creativity
Better without AI.
I don’t want it.
I want to reclaim the land.

More from Jo Wright ↓

  1. @joslipstick on Instagram

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If you’d like to support the show, Substack and Patreon members receive a copy of my book, For My Daughter, along with episodes from the audiobook.

Poetry slows us down. Thank you for listening.

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
How Clear She Shines by Emily Brontë [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:04
How Clear She Shines Emily Brontë How clear she shines! How quietlyI lie beneath her guardian light;While heaven and earth are whispering me,"To morrow, wake, but dream to-night."Yes, Fancy, come, my Fairy love!These thr…
Stuck in the Blue by Tushil Jariwala [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:17
Stuck in the Blue Tushil Jariwala i remember that weekend — the lilac sky,how i smiled at the stars while learning goodbye.i gave you my laughter, my voice, my youth,and you gave me silence, disguised as truth.i thought…
Canvas of Uncertainty by Asiyah Yusuf [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:07
Canvas of Uncertainty Asiyah YusufWe all wonder what the future holdsA blank canvas waiting, like an unwritten scroll.Brushstrokes of imagination begin to unfold,As hearts find solace in stories yet untold.In the darknes…
My Son in the Sea by Lisa Zerkle [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
My Son in the Sea Lisa Zerkle Somehow he knows he can breathe in both water and air. See how he grows piscine, dull on land, iridescent in the deep.Delicate flesh of my blood and my bone. How many bodies can this world h…
Winter nights, burning cinder. by Sierra sylvie [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:04
Winter nights, burning cinder.Sierra sylvie As I lie here with eyes that , Glint while the cinder burns each memory softly. As I lie here with those eyes that , Soar across every memory longing to be embraced.As I lie he…
Moonborn by Aura Guerra-Artola [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:57
Moonborn Aura Guerra-Artola I am the Moon’s daughter. Forever shifting roomswithin the skin I call home.My light has crossed the tides, so have my shadows. I leave pieces— memory like bark, fallen between full and hollow…
Sunday Recap & Something Nice for Myself by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:33
Here’s your recap of this week’s poems plus one new poem to carry us into the week ahead.Nov 17 - The Anatomy of a Queer Body by Gokul Prabhu @iamameme_gp on Instagram and @gokulprabhu1 on Substack.Nov 18 - Raindrops by…
Fernando by Keana Aguila Labra [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:08
Fernando Keana Aguila Labra 2011. Fernando was where we danced with our heels above the sand. A sixteen hour flight with jet lag as we licked the 6am sun. This is where it rises. Where he rises. Six hours before the myst…
Ode to the Familiar Strangers by Yara Tawk [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:33
Ode to the Familiar Strangers Yara TawkLike a wave crashing down on shore to then melt back into the ocean, I wonder if I too must break to recollect myself in my mother's embrace.Do droplets of rain miss being a wave?Wi…
Loneliness is a strange dopamine by Dipanwita Dey [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:56
Loneliness is a strange dopamine Dipanwita Dey Loneliness is a strange dopamine.Slowly, steadily, it consumes existence.Under its spell, it traps, strangulates,murders, and extinguishes.The desperate try to defeat it,unl…