Memory weighs more than bone by Charlotte Dawn | Wednesday Double Feature | One Poem Only

Memory weighs more than bone by Charlotte Dawn | Wednesday Double Feature | One Poem Only

Author: Maggie Devers March 4, 2026 Duration: 1:38

Wednesdays on One Poem Only are a double feature: one poem here on the podcast, and one more by the same poet shared on Instagram.

Memory weighs more than bone

Charlotte Dawn

You can’t see the ghosts
until you’re almost one—
until your breath learns how to hesitate,
until mirrors stop recognising you
without thinking.
They gather in the quiet margins:
hospital hallways at 3 a.m.,
old songs that bruise instead of heal,
names you don’t say aloud anymore.
The living pass straight through them,
laughing, late for something,
arms full of tomorrow.
They don’t feel the cold.
But you—
you slow down enough to notice
how memory weighs more than bone,
how absence has a voice,
how survival leaves footprints backward.
That’s when the ghosts turn their faces.
Not to haunt you—
but to ask if you remember
who you were
before you learned how to disappear.

More from Charlotte Dawn ↓

  1. @wordsbycharlottedawn on Instagram
  2. @charlottedawn1 on Substack

Watch the Second Poem

You can watch and listen to Hash browns by Charlotte Dawn as part of our Wednesday double feature on Instagram at @rembrandts.cure.

Support + Stay Connected to OPO

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.

Two poems. One poet. Let the words keep moving.


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: 100

One Poem Only
Podcast Episodes
All I Have by Rachel Turney after Avalon | One Poem After [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:36
One Poem Only is a daily ritual: one poem, center stage, just for now. This month, One Poem Only presents One Poem After, featuring selected poems written in response to the poems shared during National Poetry Month. Eac…
Bones by Toni Young after Ella B. Winters | One Poem After [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:18
One Poem Only is a daily ritual: one poem, center stage, just for now.BonesToni Youngafter Ella B. Wintersit doesn’t take much to see through skin, through blood, through bones i’ve etched poems in each rib this cage can…
Taco Bell under a Full Moon by Kris Aziz after GiGi | One Poem After [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:08
One Poem Only is a daily poetry podcast offering a quiet moment with a single poem—read aloud, without analysis or noise. Taco Bell under a Full Moon /Kris Aziz after GiGi /Dedicated to Beca /We are looking at the moonTh…
YOLO by Maggie Devers & Weekly Poetry Recap | One Poem More [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:09
One Poem More gathers all of this week’s poems from One Poem Only—an unhurried chance to listen again, or catch what you missed.This week’s poemsLife Is The Backside of Embroidery by Aasfa SiddiquiUnnamed Season by Jules…
Sparrowfall by Arch Budzar | One Poem Only [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:48
One Poem Only is a daily ritual: one poem, center stage, just for now.SparrowfallArch BudzarWhile maybe I wasn’t the smartestOr the strongestI never thought unkindly of youAnd Ialways sang my songAnd ISaw you as an angel…
Rash by Viviana Abnur | One Poem Only [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:55
One Poem Only is a daily poetry podcast offering a quiet moment with a single poem—read aloud, without analysis or noise.RashViviana AbnurEverything I know about deathI learned the hard waywhen I saw you go by on the str…