881: She Loves Me, She Love Me Not
The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily
American Public Media
4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 19 May 2023
⏱️ 7 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today’s poem is She Loves Me, She Love Me Not by Desirée Alvarez.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Why do we make bad decisions, whether reasoned or rash, when we know deep down that they are not sound? I don’t believe people when they announce they have no regrets. I find feelings of regret slightly useful. They help us muse over missed opportunities or hasty actions. Regrets remind us to do better. To be more careful.”
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm Major Jackson and this is the Slowdown. |
| 0:20.1 | On our way to the airport in Athens, my son and I decided to make a detour. |
| 0:26.1 | Just one more tourist site. |
| 0:29.0 | We chose the ancient theater at Epidorus, the former temple of the Greek god of medicine, |
| 0:35.8 | Esclepios. |
| 0:37.6 | You know him, the one with the staff and servant. |
| 0:41.5 | Just as we arrived, the guards announced to those of us waiting in line that the fained |
| 0:47.5 | outdoor theater was to be closed for several hours, due to extreme summer temperatures. |
| 0:54.9 | I was crestfallen. |
| 0:57.0 | I mean, here was one of the amazing monuments of classical architecture, just on the other |
| 1:04.1 | side of a ticket booth. |
| 1:06.6 | I had an idea. |
| 1:08.5 | On the way in, I saw an unguarded entrance for employees. |
| 1:13.8 | As soon as Romeo and I slipped past an open gate, I knew we should stop and turn around. |
| 1:21.8 | I mean, what kind of example was I setting, but I couldn't help myself. |
| 1:28.0 | We were so close. |
| 1:30.2 | We looked around and with no one in sight, we took a few steps, a few steps more. |
| 1:37.0 | And there it was, the ancient theater, empty to people, beautiful and majestic, its chipstone |
| 1:43.9 | seats fanning up to a crisp blue sky. |
| 1:50.5 | As soon as we were on our third selfie, we heard a shout, hey, hey, what are you doing? |
| 1:57.5 | What are you doing here? |
| 1:58.6 | It's closed. |
... |
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