Home by Narayani Goenka

Home by Narayani Goenka

Author: Maggie Devers August 23, 2025 Duration: 2:40

Home

Narayani Goenka

I scratch the walls
till my nails break.. till the sound of the scratch sends an
unrelenting wave of anxiety through my body
till there is a forced call in me to stop.
I submerge my head in my bath tub full of water and count to 20,
then 50,
then as long as my limbs shake as if I'm caught in exorcism.
I gasp, not sure if another moment in it would mean if I have won
or lost.
Listen to me, I yell. My mind is trapped in a fog.
Maybe that is why when you look into my eyes, you can't see the
mess.
Even when I'm screaming loud enough to paralyse myself, you
don't hear me.
You think you know me but you don't.
We're right next to each other, still in different places.
How do I invite you in my mind?
A horrid place with spider webs,
ghosts hanging from walls, I'm running for help.
How do I tell you that this is my home?
That this is where I live?
That this is how I live?

More from Narayani Goenka ↓


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
January Born by JC [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:14
January Born JC I was winter’s child,wrapped in borrowed wool,breath small as frost on windowpanes. The world outside was brittle then,trees bare-boned againsta sky that never learned warmth,roads lined with grit and qui…
New Dawn by Benedicta Kyeremaa Addai [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:23
New DawnKyeremah ‎Smile on me,‎the Sun is awakening.‎Yesterday and today left no crumbs‎We begin from there.‎‎I won't tell you how to live ‎But be happy, ‎be happy ‎‎One step at a time ‎Love, eat and pray‎Give thanks and…
Of Love and Hell by Kajal [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:21
Of Love and Hell Kajal Of how the hell fell in loveand went straight to heaven, I know the story of a dovewho used to weep for a raven.Nights when Earth criedfor tearing Sun and Moon apart,When horizons used to pain worl…
Cold Plunging by Kristin Yates [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:37
Cold Plunging Kristin Yates Breath leaves my lipslike a bird, andI feel the cardinalsand the chickadeesand the coldin my handssing.I become the shiverof saying it:I love youenoughto let you live.More from Kristin Yates ↓…
Eclipse of the Self by Ruvaani [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:25
Eclipse of the Self Ruvaani I dissolved in the shadow of my own becoming,where every heartbeat was an echo of absence,and every breath a question unspoken.The world pressed against my ribs,but in the hollow between despa…
Sunday Recap & Her Name by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:31
Here’s your recap of this week’s poems plus one new poem to carry us into the week ahead.Dec 22 - From a Home, to a House by Gunneet Kaur Bhamra @wordsmith._.witxh on Instagram. She's founder of a creative club for teena…
Return to Light by Gordan Struić [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:40
Return to Light Gordan Struić The longest night exhales,and somewhere beneath the frosta seed remembers warmth.I walk through fieldswhere shadows thin like old thoughts,each breath a small sunrise.Inside me,the dark soft…
Silent Echoes by Zahra [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:05
Silent Echoes Zahra In the quiet descent of twilight's curtain, I stand, a solitary figure, uncertain.Lost within the shifting hues of fading light, I navigate the spaces where solitude takes flight.Threads of connection…
“little tree” by E.E. Cummings [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:28
“little tree” E.E. Cummings little treelittle silent Christmas treeyou are so littleyou are more like a flowerwho found you in the green forestand were you very sorry to come away?see i will comfort youbecause you smell…