The Forest by Maria Beben

The Forest by Maria Beben

Author: Maggie Devers December 11, 2025 Duration: 2:31

The Forest

Maria Beben

We tasted the ache
like a familiar cocktail,
one we hoped
to never drink again.
We took a branch
that posed a danger
and added more kindling,
looking around for anything that would burn.
We gathered and added
until the branch became a forest
and we couldn’t see through
to the other side.
We felt betrayed
and confused
and didn’t understand how we got there.
We stood on opposite ends of this forest
and felt the weight
of a growing terror.

But at the exact moment
when we reached for a box of matches
to burn it all down,
we remembered that trees have branches
and began to climb.
From the top,
in the clear, crisp air,
we could see
that the forest wasn’t a forest at all
just a few trees
that we could help each other
navigate through.
So we climbed back down
and cleared the weeds
and made a path
and together,
celebrated the trees for what they were
before walking out the other side —
Together.

More from Maria Beben ↓


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
The Dream by Edna St. Vincent Millay [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:08
The Dream Edna St. Vincent Millay 1892 – 1950 Love, if I weep it will not matter, And if you laugh I shall not care;Foolish am I to think about it, But it is good to feel you there.Love, in my sleep I dreamed of waking,…
We never know how high we are (1176) by Emily Dickinson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:35
We never know how high we are Emily Dickinson 1830 – 1886 We never know how high we are Till we are called to rise;And then, if we are true to plan, Our statures touch the skies—The Heroism we recite Would be a daily thi…
Sunday Recap & Mother by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:50
Here’s your recap of this week’s poems plus one new poem to carry us into the week ahead. May 5 - How often we greet each other with worries by Maggie Devers May 6 - Renewal of Strength by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Ma…
What the Thrush Said by John Keats [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:05
What the Thrush Said John Keats 1795 –1821 O Thou whose face hath felt the Winter’s wind,Whose eye has seen the snow-clouds hung in mist,And the black elm tops ’mong the freezing stars,To thee the spring will be a harves…
Circe by H.D. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:00
Circe H.D. 1886 – 1961 It was easy enoughto bend them to my wish,it was easy enoughto alter them with a touch,but youadrift on the great sea,how shall I call you back?Cedar and white ash,rock-cedar and sand plantsand tam…
Held by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:36
Held Maggie Devers The sweetest meat is closest to the boneThe most tender, the most trueThe tissue there is hardest to reach,To manipulate from the outside.If you squeezed my armHow much bone would you feel?Would the fl…
For My Daughter by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00
For My Daughter by Maggie Devers Chop off my head and put it on your shield.I will protect you until the day I dieAnd all the days after that.You think I would let anything harm the perfection that sprang from my body?Th…
Renewal of Strength by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:52
Renewal of Strength Frances Ellen Watkins Harper 1825 – 1911 The prison-house in which I liveIs falling to decay,But God renews my spirit’s strengthWithin these walls of clay.For me a dimness slowly creepsAround earth’s…
How often we greet each other with worries by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:51
How often we greet each other with worries by Maggie Devers I went to the wilderness to escapeAnd there are worries there too.Caterpillars falling from their treeBefore their chrysalis is completeMy weekend project was t…
A Lady by Amy Lowell [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:49
A Lady by Amy Lowell 1874 – 1925 You are beautiful and faded,Like an old opera tunePlayed upon a harpsichord;Or like the sun-flooded silksOf an eighteenth-century boudoir. In your eyesSmoulder the fallen roses of outlive…