967: Ode to Purple Summer

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

American Public Media

Arts, Performing Arts

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 25 September 2023

⏱️ 7 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today’s poem is Ode to Purple Summer by Sabrina Benaim. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual.

In this episode, Major writes… “For me, the pendulum swing that is emotional health deprives me of the world’s splendor. The hummingbird flitting about the garden is no longer enchanting to me, a bite of a perfect brick oven pizza is just food, mere nourishment, not a crispy, aromatic experience of basil, tomato sauce, mozzarella on its way to becoming a culinary memory. Planning travel to other countries feels burdensome with all the flight preparation and itinerary building. I lose my sense of excitement. Yet, when I come out of my despair or have figured things out with the help of friends and family, I am more alive than ever, rendered new, painfully so. My synesthesia kicks in. I want to explore.”

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.
0:03.0	Life can be overwhelming when my calendar is filled to the brim,
0:06.8	it's hard to concentrate on anything else.
0:09.2	My thoughts are constantly racing with a never-ending to-do list
0:13.0	until I remember what therapy taught me to slow down and be present.
0:17.2	If you're thinking of starting therapy,
0:19.2	give BetterHelp a try.
0:20.8	It's entirely online and suit it for business schedules like mine.
0:25.2	Get a break from your thoughts with BetterHelp.
0:28.0	Visit BetterHelp.com slash slowdown today.
0:31.6	And get 10% off your first month.
0:33.6	That's BetterHelp H-E-L-P dot com slash slowdown.
0:45.2	I'm Major Jackson, and this is the slowdown.
0:58.8	On a recent evening, the line outside my favorite ice cream parlors
1:04.0	snaked around the corner.
1:06.0	Another oppressively hot evening in the South.
1:10.0	Some fan themselves.
1:13.0	Others talk rapidly in anticipation of the pleasure ahead.
1:18.0	All of us sought a flavorful relief from the humidity.
1:23.0	Except the woman ahead of me.
1:25.8	She declared she would be here even if the temperature
1:29.0	would negative 10 degrees.
	...

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