Here’s your recap of this week’s poems plus one new poem to carry us into the week ahead.

On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs by Renée Nicole Good. She was murdered by ICE on January 7, 2026. In 2020, she won the undergraduate Academy of American Poets Prize in 2020 for this poem.

Jan 5 - Becoming Again by Reya @moodmakerperson on Instagram. Her book, Teenage Tide, is available now.

Jan 6 - To Fall Is to Begin by Irina Vérène @queen_of_gore on Instagram. They are featured in Haunted Words Press’ anthology, Our Dearest Devotions, which contains their flash fiction piece about friendship, fae magic, and gender transition.

Jan 7 - Transmorphing by Özge Lena @lenaozge on Instagram. You can find her on Substack @lenaozge where she presents her new approach to poetry, Catapoetry. It is a poetic framework about the interwoven and inseparable catastrophes of our age. You can listen to me read luminous girl lullaby by Özge Lena on Instagram @rembrandts.cure.

Jan 8 - Genesis of Her by Kiran Ashraf @kiran_ashraf on Instagram and @kiranashraf7 on Substack.

Jan 9 - Part Oracle, Part Warrior by Aslam @smmaslam on Instagram and @aslammohammed on Substack. His book, Paper Boat in Rumi’s Garden, is available now.

Jan 10 - The Tender Descending by Ellie A @lines_between_living on Instagram and @linesbtwnliving on Substack. Read more from her on her blog, Lines Between Living.

Jan 11

Suck It In

Maggie Devers

I saw a woman, weak and gaunt

Shuffle slowly up the sidewalk

And instantly felt protective of my curves

Because we don’t get to keep them.

They leave us in our old age—

Only after we forget we cursed them

For the zipper’s slow progress,

The marks left by elastic waistbands,

The shock of our picture from the rear,

The angry bumps between our thighs,

The way we learned to suck it in before there was anything but flat stomach.

It’s only when the extra bits are gone

Do you realize they made you robust,

Proof of a full life

That couldn’t be knocked over

By the shock of a car squealing round the corner

Or a plucky robot delivery cart in the intersection with nothing to lose.

The paths are paved with chaos, ballast is required.

So I’ll shoulder my pack without swearing and find comfort in all I’m able to carry.

More from Maggie Devers ↓

1. My debut poetry collection, For My Daughter, available as an audiobook.
2. Purchase a signed copy of For My Daughter or get one free by subscribing to the podcast: One Poem Only on Patreon
3. Follow me on Instagram for more poetry @rembrandts.cure

Mentioned in this episode:

Write After: National Poetry Month with One Poem Only

Write After is a way to encourage poets to listen and write, and use National Poetry Month to highlight how listening to poetry makes us better poets. I know I write the best when I’m surrounded by beautiful poetry–it’s part of the reason I created this podcast, and I want to encourage others to share this practice. We'll get started in April. You can share to #WriteAfterOPO.

#WriteAfterOPO