A daily reading from One Poem Only—a quiet space for a single poem, read aloud.

Women in Me

Ayushi

I think I gather dreams like picking up stones

near an abandoned highway where

the road leads nowhere,

where the wind pants like a tiger breathing

and the woman in me returns to look

for the girl she had lost years ago

perhaps the salt in me will return to the sea

and the light in me will break open

a door, a wound, a memory, that no one can shut

a spring thunder, bolts me awake from a dream

I am dragging my earthy-body towards

the rivers of you, branching out like tendons

slowly the sun dissolves like sugar in water

all I hear are murmurs of moments

kindness, kindness, kindness

its December and I am wrapped

by the warmth of an afterthought

a kind of a forgiveness to all your

past revolting selves.

More from Ayushi ↓

1. @artofmoon__ on Instagram

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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.

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