Held by Maggie Devers

Held by Maggie Devers

Author: Maggie Devers May 8, 2025 Duration: 1:36

Held

Maggie Devers

The sweetest meat is closest to the bone
The most tender, the most true
The tissue there is hardest to reach,
To manipulate from the outside.

If you squeezed my arm
How much bone would you feel?
Would the flesh push back
And guard my depths?

The fruit around the mango pit is sinewy
Unless it’s overripe,
Then it melts into your mouth.

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
Hunger, as Salvation by Ariel K. Moniz [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:11
Hunger, as Salvation Ariel K. Moniz This moment, sun speckled and innocent—I speak of prophecies, i plant seedsof affection in your perfect, peachy ears,and it means that I am thinking of tomorrow.I await their blooming…
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Duration: 7:18
Here’s your recap of this week’s poems plus one new poem to carry us into the week ahead.Jun 16 - Midlife Calculus by Britt Kaufmann: @brittwriter on Instagram. Her website: brittkaufmann.com. Her book, Midlife Calculus,…
After I Lost Him by Barbara Ehrentreu [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:17
After I Lost Him Barbara Ehrentreu The sun still shinedThough its rays didn't warm meEncased in my shell of griefMy body felt neither heart not coldOne entire side of me was lostLopsided I stayed indoorsNot attempting to…
Him by Christy Granger [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:45
Him Christy Granger This wasn’t supposed to happenYou were not supposed to happenWhat a special ability you haveI do not trust easilyI do not trust at allI gave up on love years agoIt was not for meThe torture it brought…
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Duration: 2:16
She has a new god Maggie Devers Her god is ecstatic dancingSurrender to the music, feel the beat in your marrow, your feet planted, the earth holds you, spin with her, faster and faster, until all that remains is pure jo…
Pollen Count by Danielle Marie Cahill [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:49
Pollen Count Danielle Marie Cahill This poem first appeared in The Quarter(ly).My computer tells me the weatherThere is a high pollen count todayAs if that matters deeply to someoneImprisoned in a glass towerAt night, my…
Swans by Sara Teasdale [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:43
Swans Sara Teasdale 1884 – 1933 Night is over the park, and a few brave stars Look on the lights that link it with chains of gold,The lake bears up their reflection in broken bars That seem to heavy for tremulous water t…
Midlife Calculus by Britt Kaufmann [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:25
Midlife Calculus Britt Kaufmann Edited by Dava Sobel View the poem in Scientific AmericanMore from Britt Kaufmann ↓ @brittwriter on InstagramHer website: brittkaufmann.comHer book, Midlife Calculus, is out now from Press…
Sunday Recap & This can’t be the end of the world by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:58
Here’s your recap of this week’s poems plus one new poem to carry us into the week ahead.Jun 9 - Last Fog at Sunrise by Travers Charron: @the_inkwellian on Threads, Scattering Poem Seeds on Substack. His tanka and haiku…
the body idea by Bree North [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:03
the body idea Bree North I know i am not my bodyBut if i wereI would remember just long enoughFor memory to mean imprintsI would be curious as corneasWhiten with fear like folliclesWired up from the insideDisease could b…