1488: Anniversary by Edward Salem
The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily
American Public Media
4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 7 April 2026
⏱️ 7 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today’s poem is Anniversary by Edward Salem.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Cemeteries are peaceful, reverent places, and yet they’re places I don’t visit regularly — not unless I’m birding, apparently. If I want to feel close to someone I’ve lost, I’m more likely to look at photos, or tell stories, or listen to songs that remind me of them. And yes, I’m likely to write about them. That’s part of how I honor their memory and keep them close.”
This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation and get access to the sponsor-free version of The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Happy Poetry Month. |
| 0:02.0 | Friends of the Slowdown are invited to celebrate |
| 0:06.0 | with a special offer from Poetry Magazine. |
| 0:09.0 | This April, an annual subscription to poetry includes a limited edition notebook. |
| 0:16.0 | The notebook features a devious quote from Dorothy Alaska on its cover. |
| 0:22.7 | I'm almost always lying in a poem. |
| 0:26.7 | And the full poem is inside. |
| 0:29.7 | Use the notebook for your own poems, lies, and secrets. |
| 0:35.2 | Subscribe today at poetry magazine.org slash lying. |
| 0:41.4 | Each episode of The Slowdown offers you a moment of attention, a poem and reflection that |
| 0:48.1 | shift your perspective during busy days. |
| 0:51.3 | In celebration of National Poetry Month, you can now receive an added benefit when you |
| 0:56.5 | support the Slowdown, a sponsorship-free version of the podcast. Keep your listening centered on poetry |
| 1:03.8 | because the best moments of your day are uninterrupted. Learn more when you make your gift at slowdown show.org |
| 1:12.8 | and thank you. |
| 1:18.3 | I'm Maggie Smith, |
| 1:22.3 | and this is The Slowdown. |
| 1:24.4 | Music is the slowdown. |
| 1:37.0 | I'm a novice when it comes to birding, |
| 1:38.4 | an amateur. |
| 1:42.1 | I have the Merlin app on my phone, |
| 1:47.2 | so when I'm out and I hear a bird's call or song, I can hit record and let the app identify the bird for me by sound. It knows my location, so it searches |
... |
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