Podcast Summary: “The End of Poetry” by Ada Limón
Podcast: On Being with Krista Tippett
Date: June 28, 2024
Theme: Wisdom and presence in tumultuous times, through the prism of a single poem.
Episode Overview
This episode of On Being spotlights the poignant poem “The End of Poetry” by Ada Limón, read by the poet herself. Against the backdrop of a chaotic, emotionally saturated world, Limón’s poem serves as both an invocation and a gentle protest—a call to abandon abstraction, convention, and the distancing tendencies of language in favor of raw, tactile human connection. The episode offers listeners a meditative space to contemplate what is truly enough, and what it means to reach for honest connection in times of collective vulnerability.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
- Turning Away from Traditional Poetic Devices
At its start, Limón’s poem signals fatigue with established poetic imagery and tropes—moving away from nature (osseous, chickadee, sunflower), liturgical cadence, and the expected poetic subjects.
- “Enough of osseous and chickadee and sunflower and snowshoes, maple and seeds, samara and shoot. Enough chioscuro. Enough of thus and and prophecy…” (00:15)
- Exhaustion with Poetic and Personal Clichés
The litany of “enoughs” expands to include not just poetic but deeply personal and existential themes—mourning, longing, faith, ego, family. Limón signals a weariness with both the tropes that poets (and humans) gravitate toward and the heavy emotions that accompany them.
- “Enough of the will to go on and not go on or how a certain light does a certain thing. Enough of the kneeling and the rising and the looking inward and the looking up. Enough of the gun, the drama and the acquaintance's suicide, the long lost letter on the dresser.” (00:37)
- Desire for Unvarnished Connection
Beneath the poem's cataloguing is a deep yearning for something simple and unmeasured—connection untethered from metaphor or ornament. The speaker pleads for directness:
- “I am asking you to touch.” (01:20)
- The Human Condition Laid Bare
The poem’s refrain, “Enough...,” crescendos into an admission of vulnerability and solitude, affirming humanity in all its desperation:
- “Enough. I am human. Enough. I am alone and I am desperate. Enough of the animal saving me. Enough of the high water, enough sorrow, enough of the air and its ease.” (01:10)
- Implied Invitation to Listeners
Limón’s reading bridges the intimate and universal, inviting the audience to identify what, for them, is “enough” and to seek solace—not in poetry’s grandeur, but in real, tangible gestures of care.
Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments
- Cataloguing Weariness
“Enough of osseous and chickadee and sunflower and snowshoes, maple and seeds, samara and shoot.” —Ada Limón (00:15)
- Fatigue With Personal Mythology
“Enough of the will to go on and not go on or how a certain light does a certain thing.” —Ada Limón (00:37)
- Plain Human Need
“Enough. I am human. Enough. I am alone and I am desperate.” —Ada Limón (01:10)
- A Direct Plea
“I am asking you to touch.” —Ada Limón (01:20)
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 00:06–01:22 — Ada Limón reads “The End of Poetry” in full, uninterrupted.
- 00:15 — Opening litany of “enoughs,” listing poetic and natural imagery
- 00:37 — Turn toward emotional and personal exhaustion
- 01:10 — Declaration of humanness, loneliness, and desperation
- 01:20 — Final plea for touch and genuine connection
Episode Tone and Takeaway
The tone is vulnerable, weary, and urgent, yet ultimately hopeful in its honest longing for contact. Limón’s voice, at once tired and profoundly compassionate, echoes a collective yearning for presence that feels especially resonant during tumultuous times. The episode is an implicit call for listeners to consider what they are done with—and, by contrast, what they are yearning for now.
For further reflection or reading:
Find the full poem and more about Ada Limón’s work at onbeing.org.
