848: Six for Gold
The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily
American Public Media
4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 4 April 2023
⏱️ 6 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today’s poem is Six for Gold by Kate Hanson Foster. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Confession: As a young parent, when my children barraged me with questions, so many times, I wanted to [poof] disappear. We’ve all experienced this moment (right?) when a child suddenly becomes a human question generator or a “you-think-you’re-smart-but-I’m-going-to-bring-you-to-your-knees-in-recognition-of-your-ignorance” kind of a child? No, there was never malice, but the onslaught felt relentless. Today’s poem models the pitch of imagination that goes into satisfying a child’s curiosity in a way that leaves room for magic.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm Major Jackson, and this is the slowdown. |
| 0:20.3 | Confession As a young parent, when my children barrage |
| 0:25.0 | me what questions so many times I wanted to poof disappear. |
| 0:32.1 | We've all experienced this moment, right? |
| 0:34.7 | When a child suddenly becomes a human question generator, or a, you think you're smart, but |
| 0:41.6 | I'm going to bring you to your knees in recognition of your ignorance, kind of a child. |
| 0:47.7 | No, there was never malice, but the onslaught felt relentless. |
| 0:54.5 | As a matter of the relations, if you're a auntie or uncle, godparent, grandparent, or |
| 0:59.8 | older sibling, you two have probably been caught in the labyrinth of some child's wonderment |
| 1:06.4 | and sought the nearest way out. |
| 1:09.8 | Why is the moon in the sky? |
| 1:12.3 | Where does subway rats sleep? |
| 1:15.0 | Who made the first loaf of bread? |
| 1:17.9 | Are we aliens? |
| 1:20.1 | Why are trees green? |
| 1:22.7 | Although sometimes I knew the answers, I did not want to devote the entire morning to |
| 1:28.0 | explaining sunlight, photosynthesis, and chlorophyll. |
| 1:33.0 | Doing so would either daisy chain into a series of new questions or cut into nap time, and |
| 1:40.6 | they needed their sleep as much as I needed time to compose a poem during that quick |
| 1:46.9 | respite. |
| 1:49.2 | Although the desire to vanish would dissipate pretty quickly. |
| 1:54.7 | A child's curiosity deserves attention and cultivation, and might be one of the most |
... |
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