“Ode to Those First Fifteen Minutes After the Kids Are Finally Asleep” by Clint Smith

On Being with Krista Tippett

On Being Studios

Society, Spirituality, Society & Culture, Sociology, Culture, Science, Religion & Spirituality, Krista Tippett, Social Sciences, On Being, Arts

4.7 • 10.2K Ratings

🗓️ 2 November 2023

⏱️ 2 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Clint Smith reads his poem, “Ode to Those First Fifteen Minutes After the Kids Are Finally Asleep.” This poem is featured in Clint’s On Being conversation with Krista, “What We Know in the ‘Marrow of Our Bones.’” Find more of his poems, along with our full collection of poetry films and readings from two decades of the show, at Experience Poetry.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Ode to those first 15 minutes after the kids are finally asleep.
0:09.9	Written and read by Clint Smith.
0:16.6	Praise the couch that welcomes you back into its embrace as it does every night around
0:22.2	this time.
0:24.1	Praise the loose cereal that crunches beneath your weight.
0:27.7	The whole grain, golden dust that now shimmers on the backside of your pants.
0:32.7	Praise the cushion, the one in the middle that sinks like a lifeboat leaking air, and
0:38.1	the ottoman covered in crayon stains that you have now accepted as aesthetic.
0:43.5	Praise your knees, and the evening respite they receive from a day of Chuchu training along
0:48.4	the carpet with two eager passengers in tow.
0:53.0	Praise the silence.
0:54.0	Oh, the silence.
0:56.3	Now washes over you like a worn bedsheet.
0:59.6	Praise the walls for the way they stand there, and don't ask for anything.
1:05.1	Praise the seduction of slumber that tipped holes across your eyelids.
1:08.9	The way attempts you to curl up right there and drift away even though it's only 7.30
1:13.9	pm.
1:15.8	Praise the phone you scroll through, without even realizing that you're scrolling.
1:20.4	Praise the video you scroll past of the man teaching his dog how to dance Marenga.
1:26.2	Praise the way it makes you laugh the way someone laughs when they are so tired they don't
1:30.1	know if they will ever stand up again.
1:33.2	Praise the toys scattered across the floor.
	...

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