Storm Chaser by Melanie Hess

Storm Chaser by Melanie Hess

Author: Maggie Devers May 21, 2025 Duration: 1:33

Storm Chaser

Melanie Hess

last week the riverbed cracked,
its veins like autumn leaves,
plows and combines idle in fields
dinosaurs on the verge of extinction

my joints simmer
with arms and legs splayed star-shaped
in an old plantation rocker
I imagine the wettest place on earth
and watch a scout ant migrate up the kitchen tap
in search of water for the queen

the sky shifts mood
releasing a peaty potpourri
the squall appears windward.

I grab the monkey on my back
we gobble the rain
jabbering whirling eddies
my skirt swirling like Carmen Miranda

More from Melanie ↓


You can listen to me read Picture This by Melanie over on Instagram @rembrandts.cure


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
Lines Written At Thorp Green by Anne Brontë [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:18
Lines Written At Thorp Green Anne Brontë 1820 – 1849 That summer sun, whose genial glow Now cheers my drooping spirit so Must cold and distant be, And only light our northern clime With feeble ray, before the time I long…
cream soda by Stephanie Valente [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:06
cream soda Stephanie Valente Glamor is a spell. I want to feel glamorous.Imagine this: being born from Aphrodite’s oceanpearls. Foamy, iridescent, shimmery, and moodyall over. I bet it’s gorgeous. It's the kind of feelin…
Sunday Recap & Commence by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:30
Here’s your recap of this week’s poems plus one new poem to carry us into the week ahead.May 26 - St. Pancras Station, August 1915 by Vera BrittainMay 27 - The Coliseum by Edgar Allan PoeMay 28 - The garden path and all…
The Wish, By a Young Lady by Laetitia Pilkington [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:39
The Wish, By a Young Lady Laetitia Pilkington 1709 – 1750 I ask not wit, nor beauty do I crave,Nor wealth, nor pompous titles wish to have;But since, 'tis doomed through all degrees of life,Whether a daughter, sister, or…
Long, Too Long America by Walt Whitman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:46
Long, Too Long America Walt Whitman 1819 – 1892 Long, too long America,Traveling roads all even and peaceful you learn'd from joys and prosperity only,But now, ah now, to learn from crises of anguish, advancing, grapplin…
Did you know? by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19
Did you know? Maggie Devers The divine feminine loves to find trouble and communeTo cannonball into the pool just to make wavesAnd feel the splash backMore from Maggie Devers ↓Read my debut poetry book, For My DaughterFo…
The garden path and all that jazz by Anisha SenGupta Yanger [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:57
The garden path and all that jazz Anisha SenGupta Yanger Often enough,the ziplock splitsthe bones crash,and I can feel the days presence all too well,the particles of my cerebellum,caught unawaresjust like the watchtower…
The Coliseum by Edgar Allan Poe [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:53
The Coliseum Edgar Allan Poe 1809 – 1849 Type of the antique Rome! Rich reliquary Of lofty contemplation left to Time By buried centuries of pomp and power! At length—at length—after so many days Of weary pilgrimage and…
St. Pancras Station, August 1915 by Vera Brittain [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:37
St. Pancras Station, August 1915 Vera Brittain 1893 – 1970 One long, sweet kiss pressed close upon my lips, One moment's rest on your swift-beating heart,And all was over, for the hour had come For us to part.A sudden fo…
Sunday Recap & She was in her prime by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:27
Here’s your recap of this week’s poems plus one new poem to carry us into the week ahead.May 19 - Fides, Spes by Willa CatherMay 20 - Love by Elizabeth Barrett BrowningMay 21 - Storm Chaser by Melanie HessMay 22 - During…