Part Oracle, Part Warrior by Aslam

Part Oracle, Part Warrior by Aslam

Author: Maggie Devers January 9, 2026 Duration: 2:20

part oracle, part warrior

Aslam

a crescent moon, hangs like a scar
on her shoulder’s silence.
her lips sealed
by vow or violence.

her eyes do not ask.
they know.
they have watched empires bleed
on blades of their own lies.

she stands in gray,
spine unbent,
each scar a sentence
she never had to explain.

call it rebellion.
call it myth.
a woman
who no longer waits.

she is the ink and the echo,
the storm braided into calm.

you may look,
but you will not read her.
not everyone sees
what silence reveals.

so i offer you a line,
a voice shaped by defiance,
a presence drawn in truth.

let me speak for her,
since her lips are sealed:
she would not kneel.

she is here
for you to bow.

More from Aslam ↓

  1. @smmaslam on Instagram
  2. @aslammohammed on Substack
  3. His book, Paper Boat in Rumi’s Garden, is available now

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
Taemong by Kimberly McAfee [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:21
Taemong Kimberly McAfee After Li-Young Lee*My mother had a dream of me,when she and I were one.She dreamed of a snakecoiled on her belly.It was her taemong, her conception dream, of me.How Adam and Eve were so deceived!A…
Lebensabschnittspartner by Sarthak Mukherji [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:17
Lebensabschnittspartner Sarthak Mukherji Lebensabschnittspartner.Life - section - partner.A gorgeous German distillationof something about as mystifyingas splitting an atom and the violence that follows, the wondrous shi…
Sunday Recap & Born Artist by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:20
Here’s your recap of this week’s poems plus one new poem to carry us into the week ahead.Sep 22 - "a walk from my Eve to my Lilith" by Eva Garg @thelifedraft on Instagram.Sep 23 - Nikomis by Shelby Larkin @calamityverses…
Cliff by Ofelia ferch Rhos [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:19
Cliff Ofelia ferch Rhos Salt spattered on chalk carves out the rough-hewn shape of thought:the cliff is a canvas where they escape me, and become mammoths on sandstone, scattered by stick-figured spears.Magpies perch lis…
Winds of reverie by Philippa Drake [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:53
Winds of reverie Philippa Drake A lord soarsinto the azure expanseforsaking blood bondschasing the winds of libertyto repose in distant islandswhere no man yet resides.Friends of wondrous creatureshe dreams in covesand t…
Clouds Have Always Been Women by Nanki Kandhari [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:42
Clouds Have Always Been Women Nanki Kandhari Clouds have always been women—braided in softness,swollen with storiesthey were never allowed to pour.They gather, quietly,between gossiping winds and forgotten rooftops,holdi…
Ash and Gardens by Jessica Sorya [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:25
Ash and Gardens Jessica Sorya She asks me, “What did I want at nineteenthat I have now?”I answer, “Nothing. Everything I wanted is gone.”Every man I pedestaled, fell.toppled over, head heavy.Bless ‘em.Cowards.I’ve always…
Nikomis by Shelby Larkin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:11
Nikomis Shelby Larkin Your smile sung out to sunshine& carried it across ages& every sunny day has a piece of you in itI think of you when a butterfly lands gently on a Black Eyed Susan Or a humming bird shimmers through…
"a walk from my Eve to my Lilith" by Eva Garg [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:18
a walk from my Eve to my Lilitha swim within my own soulOne was made from your rib,the other, from the same soil as you.One sacrificed herself for your love,the other loved herselfUntil there was nothing left to hate.One…
Sunday Recap & Theory by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:12
Here’s your recap of this week’s poems plus one new poem to carry us into the week ahead.Sep 15 - First Person Account of a Seed by Vinita Agrawal @vinitaagrawal18 on Instagram. Her book Eartha is out now.Sep 16 - the li…