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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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
The Visionary by Emily Brontë [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:42
The Visionary Emily Brontë 1818 – 1848 Silent is the house: all are laid asleep:One alone looks out o’er the snow-wreaths deep,Watching every cloud, dreading every breezeThat whirls the wildering drift, and bends the gro…
During this year's lunar eclipse by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:47
During this year's lunar eclipse Maggie Devers I misplaced my shot glassAnd over-poured my negronisOr what's it called with port instead of vermouth?It doesn't really matter.We floated on togetherI booked tickets for Dis…
Storm Chaser by Melanie Hess [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:33
Storm Chaser Melanie Hess last week the riverbed cracked,its veins like autumn leaves,plows and combines idle in fieldsdinosaurs on the verge of extinctionmy joints simmer with arms and legs splayed star-shaped in an old…
Love by Elizabeth Barrett Browning [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:00
Love Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1806 – 1861 We cannot live, except thus mutuallyWe alternate, aware or unaware,The reflex act of life: and when we bearOur virtue onward most impulsively,Most full of invocation, and to be…
Fides, Spes by Willa Cather [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:12
Fides, Spes Willa Cather 1873 – 1947 Joy is come to the little Everywhere;Pink to the peach and pink to the apple, White to the pear.Stars are come to the dogwood, Astral, pale;Mists are pink on the red-bud, Veil after v…
Sunday Recap & Proportions by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:02
Here’s your recap of this week’s poems plus one new poem to carry us into the week ahead.May 12 - We never know how high we are (1176) by Emily DickinsonMay 13 - The Dream by Edna St. Vincent MillayMay 14 - Letter #14 of…
Dewdrops by Myra Viola Wilds [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:33
Dewdrops Myra Viola Wilds Watch the dewdrops in the morning, Shake their little diamond heads,Sparkling, flashing, ever moving, From their silent little beds.See the grass! Each blade is brightened, Roots are strengthene…
Verse for a Certain Dog by Dorothy Parker [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:29
Verse for a Certain Dog Dorothy Parker 1893 – 1967 Such glorious faith as fills your limpid eyes, Dear little friend of mine, I never knew.All-innocent are you, and yet all-wise. (For heaven’s sake, stop worrying that sh…
Brood by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:44
Brood Maggie Devers The three hens at my daughter’s schoolAre oblivious to egg pricesConcerned with lunch scrapsAnd the stray termiteAnd their stair perch when the sun dips lowI wonder how they spend evenings and weekend…