Shownotes
One Poem Only is a daily ritual: one poem, center stage, just for now.
Amalgamation
Sophia James
I walk to the top of the hill,
The Sheffield hill
That made my accent broad
My legs - wide and sturdy,
And my body - strong.
The same body
That my Mother’s Mother’s
Mother had.
The body that belongs to me,
And in it, I belong.
I stand at the top of the hill,
Held up by my legs.
I stick my belly out,
My top rides up, and I feel a breeze.
I feel the wind tickle my fingers,
I clutch the air and squeeze.
I clench the fingers
I see my Grandma in.
The fingers, my Grandma
Sees her Daughter in
The fingers
That let us share rings
And hold onto things
And people
That we love.
The fingers
That my baby sister gripped,
When she learned to stomp her legs
Up the hill.
That I now look over.
Suddenly the noise
Fizzles out.
And this silence,
Sets me free.
My body is an amalgamation
Of the women
Before
And after me.
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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.
