Transmorphing by Özge Lena

Transmorphing by Özge Lena

Author: Maggie Devers January 7, 2026 Duration: 2:16

Transmorphing

Özge Lena

This Poem was commended for Winged Muse Poetry Competition of Winged Moon Literary Magazine

After Harpy by Valerie Hammond

In seven nights she will burst
into nothing. Now all alone in a cream
coloured void, a wound
like creature, a word hunger like no other.
Soon you will meet her
in the neon gloaming, after the ruby ache
of not writing for a long winter,
frost flowers in your heart. Her low wings
will be closed, sharp claws
pointing down and down, some frozen
sadness on her pale face.
Sunset’s vermilion beams will bleed
into your lungs as you hold
her by hair, unfurl the ribbon to tie it
around your neck, to see your freedom
knotted in its silk, and breathe
life into her mouth. You will watch her
unfold her wings wide, talons
will scratch the soft air when she cloaks
you tight until you morph into
a harpy to write a septet poem in red ink.

More from Özge Lena ↓

  1. @lenaozge on Instagram
  2. You can find her on Substack @lenaozge where she presents her new approach to poetry, Catapoetry. It is a poetic framework about the interwoven and inseparable catastrophes of our age.
  3. You can listen to me read luminous girl lullaby by Özge Lena on Instagram @rembrandts.cure

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
Happiness by Navya Chaudhary [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:05
Happiness Navya Chaudhary If you are out there chasing happiness,Then I want you to remember this.If you're chasing it,It's definitely not yours.Happiness is not somewhere out there,It's hidden in those small moments aro…
Sunday Recap & Suck It In by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:48
Here’s your recap of this week’s poems plus one new poem to carry us into the week ahead.On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs by Renée Nicole Good. She was murdered by ICE on January 7, 2026. In 2020, she won the undergradu…
The Tender Descending by Ellie Augustin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:48
The Tender DescendingEllie AugustinThe earth exhales and everything slows.The trees remember what it means to be bare.We gather what warmth remains in our handsand stitch our dreams beneath quiet skies.Each flake that la…
Part Oracle, Part Warrior by Aslam [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:20
part oracle, part warrior Aslam a crescent moon, hangs like a scaron her shoulder’s silence.her lips sealedby vow or violence.her eyes do not ask.they know.they have watched empires bleedon blades of their own lies.she s…
On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs by Renée Nicole Good [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:42
On Learning to Dissect Fetal PigsRenée Nicole GoodThis poem was awarded the Academy of American Poets Prize in 2020.i want back my rocking chairs,solipsist sunsets,& coastal jungle sounds that are tercets from cicadas an…
Genesis of Her by Kiran Ashraf [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:02
Genesis of HerKiran AshrafHer body is like a powerful tidelooming in an ever-flowing motionchewing on her emotions like riceshe aches to read in sheltering armswearing her chaos for a better lifeher skin is a wild thing…
To Fall Is to Begin by Irina Vérène [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:56
To Fall Is to BeginIrina Vérènei won’t be draggedpast the pearly gates—i’ll leave of my own volition.with these heavenly rulesstifling my breath,i must say,it seems a wise decision.amidst the flamesand the curling smoke,…
Becoming Again by Reya [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:47
Becoming AgainReyaI didn’t rise like fire —I rose like forgiveness.Lost me once, still trying,sky’s the limit, I’m craving the climb.Thoughts that once broke menow make me alive again.Words find me, like a heart reborn —…
Sunday Recap & Crawl Space by Maggie Devers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:56
Here’s your recap of this week’s poems plus one new poem to carry us into the week ahead.Dec 29 - Eclipse of the Self by Ruvaani @ruvaani.unclaimed on Instagram. Her book, The Sunken Daffodil, is out now.Dec 30 - Cold Pl…