Shownotes
One Poem Only is a daily poetry podcast offering a quiet moment with a single poem—read aloud, without analysis or noise.
Plutocracy
Alicia Swain
In kitchens drops will drip, each brown in hue,
a mother will keep her son from the truth,
the senate will swear there’s nothing to do,
though they tout their care for the nation’s youth.
A man will cast his vote at ten to noon,
his ballot broken down in only two,
he lives inside a fading honeymoon
with good intentions, having not a clue:
disease inside him ticks just like a bomb,
one year from now the hospital will close,
he’ll find a plot to rest beside his mom,
if only congress told him how it goes.
Though women’s bodies know not rights of men,
thank God the rich can clutch their wealth again.
More from Alicia Swain ↓
- @aliciamswain on Instagram
- @aliciamswain on Substack
- Her book, Steel Slides and Yellow Walls, is available now
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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 slows us down. Thank you for listening.
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One Poem Only submissions are open.
I’m filling the next chapter of One Poem Only and would love to include your work. Send me the poem you wrote and want the world to hear. New this round: if you’d like to read your own poem on the podcast, you can. No need for a perfect studio recording—just a clear audio file recorded in a quiet space. If you choose this option, you’ll submit your poem and an audio file of you reading it. Submissions close Thursday, July 30. I’ll respond by August 12. Whether I read your poem or you read it yourself, I’d love to hear what you’re ready to share.
