• The Devotions Podcast

  • By: Tara
  • Podcast
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The Devotions Podcast

By: Tara
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  • Summary

  • Words on reflection, literature, and finding joy in the little things. Every Sunday.
    The Devotions Podcast
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Episodes
  • "The Orange" by Wendy Cope

    "The Orange" by Wendy Cope
    Feb 19 2023
    I love you. I'm glad I exist.

    Hi friends,

    Today’s poem is “The Orange” by Wendy Cope*.

    At lunchtime I bought a huge orange—
    The size of it made us all laugh.
    I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave—
    They got quarters and I had a half.
    And that orange, it made me so happy,
    As ordinary things often do
    Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park.
    This is peace and contentment. It’s new.
    The rest of the day was quite easy.
    I did all the jobs on my list
    And enjoyed them and had some time over.
    I love you. I’m glad I exist.

    As I mentioned, this is the last episode of the Devotions podcast. Thank you so much to everyone who tuned in, I really appreciate it. These episodes will still be accessible on all podcast streaming platforms. See you on the other side.

    Love always,

    <3 Tara

    *from Serious Concerns by Wendy Cope, published by Faber & Faber in 1992.
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    5 mins
  • "Imaginary Conversation" by Linda Pastan

    "Imaginary Conversation" by Linda Pastan
    Feb 5 2023
    Why not / live each day as if it were the first—/ all raw astonishment

    Happy Sunday! Apologies for being a bit casual (and sniffly) this week :-)

    Today’s poem is “Imaginary Conversation” by the late Linda Pastan*.

    You tell me to live each day
    as if it were my last. This is in the kitchen
    where before coffee I complain
    of the day ahead—that obstacle race
    of minutes and hours,
    grocery stores and doctors.
    But why the last? I ask. Why not
    live each day as if it were the first—
    all raw astonishment, Eve rubbing
    her eyes awake that first morning,
    the sun coming up
    like an ingénue in the east?
    You grind the coffee
    with the small roar of a mind
    trying to clear itself. I set
    the table, glance out the window
    where dew has baptized every
    living surface.

    <3 Tara

    *from Insomnia by Linda Pastan, published by W.W. Norton in 2015
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    4 mins
  • "Do You Speak Persian?" by Kaveh Akbar

    "Do You Speak Persian?" by Kaveh Akbar
    Jan 25 2023
    Is there a vocabulary for this—one to make dailiness amplify / and not diminish wonder?

    Hi friends,

    Sorry for the delay in getting this out — thank you so much for your patience. Today’s poem is “Do You Speak Persian?” by Kaveh Akbar.

    Some days we can see Venus in mid-afternoon. Then at night, stars
    separated by billions of miles, light travelling years
    to die in the back of an eye.
    Is there a vocabulary for this—one to make dailiness amplify
    and not diminish wonder?
    I have been so careless with the words I already have.
    I don’t remember how to say home
    in my first language, or lonely, or light.
    I remember only
    delam barat tang shodeh, I miss you,
    and shab bekheir, goodnight.
    How is school going, Kaveh-joon?
    Delam barat tang shodeh.
    Are you still drinking?
    Shab bekheir.
    For so long every step I’ve taken
    has been from one tongue to another.
    To order the world:
    I need, you need, he/she/it needs.
    The rest, left to a hungry jackal
    he rest, left to a hungry jackal
    Right now our moon looks like a pale cabbage rose.
    Delam barat tang shodeh.
    We are forever folding into the night.
    Shab bekheir.

    Hope you’re doing well.

    <3 Tara

    *first published in Narrative in 2015, sourced from Split This Rock’s poetry database.
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    5 mins
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