Playground by David Park

Playground by David Park

Author: Maggie Devers September 2, 2025 Duration: 2:47

Playground

David Park

In the spheres the playgrounds
are alive!
Excitement pours forth in laughter and tears.
What’s now and what’s next
is felt as the vibrations ripple through the air.
Rising up through the trees to echo down the fading memory of childhood.
In our time, this ever achingly brief blink, as of a child’s tear filled eye,
we kneel to honor these moments.
To honor the child, the Mother and
the Father.
We, in our capacity to hold open our hearts, call forth blessings not bestowed on us.
The singularity of eternity expands in the presence of our presence. Fear and sadness let loose, anger and pain softened.
We rise to our next kneeling. Holding fast and fleetingly to unheard hymns.
To the faintness of spirit gesturing us on towards sleep.
We soften.
We drink from the deep waters of our resiliency that is finding its way into parts of our healing.
And, we sleep and dream in the spheres of our own playground.
In the echoes of laughter

More from David Park ↓

  • This poem is inspired by David’s years at Play Mountain Place, where children are free to learn

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
Signs by Defne Kartal [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:47
Signs Defne Kartal I don’t believe in signs but I doI beg for them daily, and when they arrive -A postcard, a dog, a friend, a group of musicians, a Canadian -i don’t do what I think they’re telling me towhat are signs f…
Sunday Recap & The prompt was to write by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:57
Here’s your recap of this week’s poems plus one new poem to carry us into the week ahead.Nov 3 - Naked by Danielle Martin @cosquelle.mind on Instagram. DanielleM on Facebook. Her book, Kissing Shadows: Caribbean Love Poe…
"Dear death" by Alexis M Levine [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:55
A poem inspired by Emily Dickinson Dear death How can I stay when you, more than life, make me feel seen? They call you cruel, but I have seen the gentleness in your cruelty— the mercy in your ending, the way you unburde…
Nightmares are dreams too by Dimple Dinesh Lokhande [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:36
Nightmares are dreams too Dimple Dinesh Lokhande In the midnight sky, as breeze passes by, In our sleep, we tend to fly, To a place where dreams seem to lie. Dreams whisper on clouds in silver light, We see in shining ar…
you wrote anyway by Abhilasha Ghosh [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:11
you wrote anyway Abhilasha Ghosh july 25th, 2025 you were told writing was a man’s terrain— ink too heavy, thought too sharp for your soft hands. so you wrote anyway. you became george eliot when mary ann wouldn’t be tak…
Her Absence by Katrina Kaye [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:14
Her Absence Katrina Kaye I do not regret the days I spent loving you in her absence. I do not regret your tempered touches as you searched for her skin under my scales or the way your eyes reflected her sharp chin and fr…
Poetry Reading by Maggie Devers & An Exciting Announcement [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:39
Poetry Reading Maggie Devers After Chelsie DianeThis is a rememberingWhen we come togetherAnd read our truth.We have been doing this forever.They have tried to stop us—Burnt us alive, tied rocks to our ankles and threw u…
Naked by Danielle Martin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:13
Naked Danielle Martin Naked in the truth that she is alone she hugs herself tightly and succeeds in creating the illusion of wellness. Damp eyes close as jaded lips conjure up wide smiles. Damn! Her mind begins to do its…
Sunday Recap & Forty-Three Is Poetry by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:26
Here’s your recap of this week’s poems plus one new poem to carry us into the week ahead.Oct 27 - i don't remember being small by Momena Khan @still.in.my.d4afts_ on Instagram.Oct 28 - What Are We by Laker Patience @lake…
"I would peel pomegranates for you—" by Hareem Ismail [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:11
I would peel pomegranates for you—Not just slice them open, but gently with my fingers stained red— I would learn its anatomy, the way they bruise and break if held too harshly, the way they hold memories in every seed.I…