We invited you, our community of listeners, to share poems that inspire the way you move through your daily life,

and you shared so many thoughtful recommendations with us. This week, we're featuring five of your selections,

along with a reflection from the person who chose each one. If you'd like to participate in the next

round of community selections, sign up for our newsletter.

We'll be sending a special Slowdown Postcard to new subscribers that sign up this week.

Find the link in the show notes.

I'm Micah Keelbaum, and this is The Slowdown.

Thank you. I'm Micah Kielbaum, and this is The Slowdown. We asked you, our listeners, to help us select poems for the show.

Today, instead of hearing a moment of reflection from Maggie,

you'll hear from a member of our slowdown community and joy.

My name is Megan Elizabeth Kelly, and I live in the Philadelphia area.

The past, I think, is part of the present in a lot of our lives.

And I think sometimes things happen too quickly too soon and they become our past, but they never really leave us.

We inherit lots of different things.

And there are ways in which, with the weight of the world and the weight of

uncertainty, that we can turn those violences toward ourselves. The last couple years have been

really intense for me personally and in the world. And poetry demands a kind of presence. And so I think the choice to be here

is also the choice to be witness to what is happening in the world. There is an incredible

amount of violence. There's an incredible amount of grief and demand from myself a witnessing

of joy, a witnessing of beauty of wonder.

I feel in all of people that are determined to make art and make things right now,

especially when there is so much that is pushing back against doing that.

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