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 ↓

1. @mezzo.strada on Instagram
2. Her book, Between Love and Grief: Pet Loss and Healing through Poetry, is available now

Support + Stay Connected to OPO

If you’d like to support the show, Substack and Patreon members receive a copy of my book, For My Daughter, along with episodes from the audiobook.

Poetry sustains. Thank you for supporting the podcast.

Mentioned in this episode:

Write After: National Poetry Month with One Poem Only

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. We'll get started in April. You can share to #WriteAfterOPO.

#WriteAfterOPO