About this episode
Tracy K. Smith’s poem “ Song ” is filled with observations of a loved person: their habits, the things they do when they think nobody is watching. Love is shown and celebrated in observing the small practices of another. A question to reflect on after you listen: What’s something small and quiet you’ve noticed about a loved one? About the poet: Tracy K. Smith is a professor of creative writing at Princeton University and the former poet laureate of the United States. Her poetry collections include Life on Mars , winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Duende , and The Body’s Prize . Her memoir is Ordinary Light , and she also hosts the podcast, The Slowdown . “Song” comes from Tracy K. Smith’s book Life on Mars . Thank you to Graywolf Press, who published the book and to The Permissions Company, who let us use Tracy’s poem. Read it on our website at onbeing.org . Find the transcript for this episode at onbeing.org . The original music in this episode was composed by Gautam Srikishan . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.