Wednesdays on One Poem Only are a double feature: one poem here on the podcast, and one more by the same poet shared on Instagram.

You’ll Hear Music

Chandra Tyler Mountain

This poem is included in the 2024-25 Stafford Challenge Anthology.

If you listen closely—

you’ll hear the music in the quiet humming,

pulses and surges of electricity,

moving through us

with light and energy.

If you listen closely—

you’ll hear the music in the wind

whistling softly, making its way through,

carrying seeds of hope

for a tomorrow that will surely come.

If you listen closely—

you’ll hear the music in the stately elms and oaks

planning for a winter

of full exposure:

cold days, stark nights.

If you listen closely—

you’ll hear the music in the private chirps

of the feathered ones who remain

to brave the winter and feast on songs of insects

buried deep in the cold, hard earth.

If you listen closely—

you’ll hear the music in the laughter of children

frolicking in the last remaining days of sun

before the arctic breeze pushes us behind closed doors

to seek other sources of warmth.

If you listen closely—

you’ll hear the music in the beating of your own heart

in tune with blessing and grief,

singing back to you:

all is well; all is well.

More from Chandra Tyler Mountain ↓

1. @musings.from.my.grown.self on Instagram
2. Her books, Sacred Water: Scripture Haiku for Those Who Thirst, and Musings from My Younger Self, are available now.

Watch the Second Poem

You can watch and listen to Abandoned by Chandra as part of our Wednesday double feature on Instagram at @rembrandts.cure.

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.

Two poems. One poet. Let the words keep moving.