About this episode
One Poem Only is a daily poetry podcast offering a quiet moment with a single poem—read aloud, without analysis or noise.
mortal perch
Amanda Thuy
upon a mortal perch i scribe away my lonely parts,
pulled from deepest chasm of this broken heart.
a treasure trove of loss and tattered dreams,
befitting muse which in the dark sits agleam.
heartache wrapped in anguished words seeking sanity,
mutated from once tightly held soliloquy.
harrowing thoughts bleed from fissures of speaking heart,
seeping through veins and through fingers now depart.
all unspoken peers now into light through hope-filled ink,
seeking redemption while still consuming tear-stained drink.
loneliness of my despair shall now upon all befall,
mystic and cryptic script that quietly fades into ears of all.
one bit of comfort as wounds float upon flutter of winds,
unburdening some grief-laden poundage long kept within.
More from Amanda Thuy ↓
- @mezzo.strada on Instagram
- Her book, Between Love and Grief: Pet Loss and Healing through Poetry, is available now
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Write After is a way to encourage poets to listen and write, and use National Poetry Month to highlight how listening to poetry makes us better poets. I know I write the best when I’m surrounded by beautiful poetry–it’s part of the reason I created this podcast, and I want to encourage others to share this practice. If you want to join: Listen to a poem from the month of April on One Poem Only, then write your own in response. I will pick one for each day to read in June for a special series: One Poem After 🍎🍏 Submissions close May 15.
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One Poem Only — mortal perch by Amanda Thuy | One Poem Only. Machine-transcribed; use the interactive transcript above to jump the player to any line.
One poem only, like a one-night-only performance, but in verse. Here we go. Today's poem is by Amanda Thuy. Upon a mortal perch, I scribe away my lonely parts, pulled from deepest chasm of this broken heart. A treasure trove of loss and tattered dreams, befitting muse in which the dark sits a gleam. Heartache wrapped in anguished words seeking sanity. Mutated from once tightly held soliloquy, harrowing thoughts bleed from fishers of speaking heart, seeping through veins and through fingers, not apart. All unspoken peers now interlite through hope-filled ink, seeking redemption while still consuming tear-stained drink. Loneliness of my despair shall now upon all befall. Mystic and cryptic script that quietly fades into ears of all.
One bit of comfort is wounds float upon flutter of winds, unburdening some grief-laden poundage long-kept within. By Amanda Thuy, if that poem stayed with you, seek out more of her work, her book, Between Love and grief, pet loss and healing through poetry, is available now. And she's on Instagram at Mezzo Strata. Thank you for listening, poetry lover. The curtain rises tomorrow. Subscribe so you don't miss it.
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