942: Very Large Moth

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

American Public Media

Arts, Performing Arts

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 14 August 2023

⏱️ 6 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today’s poem is Very Large Moth by Craig Arnold. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, guest host Shira Erlichman writes… “Today’s poem teaches us that you can’t choose your holy moments. The poet is a sudden citizen of bewilderment. When it comes time to express a kinship across species, he finds himself bereft.” 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	Hey Slowdown listeners, today's episode is hosted by the poet Shira Erlichman.
0:06.2	Don't worry, I'll be back on August 28th.
0:16.0	I'm Shira Erlichman and this is The Slowdown.
0:30.0	In my 20s, traveling through California, I stayed with my friend Donka.
0:36.0	Donka is a farmer, a surfer, a generous and easy soul who lent me their couch.
0:43.0	One morning they loaded their truck with surfboards and told me to get in.
0:48.0	I had never surfed.
0:51.0	In the water, I felt like a gas.
0:54.0	Donka bobbed beside me dispensing advice.
0:58.0	Soon they drifted toward a pack of veteran surfers and I was on my own.
1:03.0	I dragged my board deeper into the surf, preparing to hop on and explore.
1:09.0	A slick blue black head popped out of the water.
1:15.0	At first I thought it was an alien, then a scuba diver in a jet black hood, then a dog.
1:24.0	In confused terror, I clumsily tried to hop up on my board.
1:29.0	Yet a spark of sanity gripped my shoulders.
1:33.0	It's a sea lion, Shira.
1:36.0	You may never get this moment again.
1:40.0	When I faced him, his eyes were curious.
1:44.0	My fear dissolved into ecstasy.
1:48.0	I was the alien.
1:50.0	I was on his planet.
1:53.0	Yet he was not afraid of me.
	...

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