It’s an invitation to look at the weight we carry with different eyes—to see our struggles not as proof that we’re failing, but as the raw material for something deeper, stronger, and more meaningful. I brought in a line from Epictetus that has been sitting with me lately, and we explore what it means to transform our suffering instead of being crushed by it.

And as a way of saying thank you, I wrote this haiku in calligraphy, framed it, and I’m giving it away.

Giveaway details:
Email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com with “healing alchemy” in the subject line.
I’ll put every entry into a drawing and choose a winner at random.

Thanks for joining me.

“may I be I is the only prayer—”
— e. e. cummings

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My books of poetry are availabe for purchase at

Amazon.com

["The Ghost of a Beating Heart", "My Mother Sleeps" and "Haiku Village"]()

I was joined this episode by Chris and Elise Jones and Ali Talbot. We gathered in the warm, book-lined library at Chris and Elise Jones’ home and just talked.

We read Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem Go to the Limits of Your Longing, and from there we let the conversation unfold naturally. We talked about suffering — not in a heavy, hopeless way, but in the way you talk when you know that pain and beauty are woven into the same thread. We explored what it means to surrender to life’s difficulties instead of resisting them. We laughed about childhood memories, tofu meatloaf, and the glory of Saturday morning cartoons. We got real about trauma, caretaking, creating from heartbreak, and what it means to show up for each other when life breaks us open.

This episode is about sitting with what’s hard, about finding connection through vulnerability, and about how creativity — whether it’s poetry, baking, music, or just making something out of pain — can save us in quiet, powerful ways.

It’s also about joy. Tangents. Belly laughs. Tears. Root beer ice cream sandwiches.

Give it a listen. It’s not polished, but it’s real. And sometimes that’s exactly what we need most.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My books of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, The Ghost of a Beating Heart and Haiku Village are availabe for purchase at

Amazon.com

Special Guests: Ali Talbot, Christian Jones, and Elise Jones.