1339: Wind-Related Ripple in the Wheatfield by Mikko Harvey

Summary

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Podcast Summary

Podcast: The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily
Host: Maggie Smith
Episode: 1339: Wind-Related Ripple in the Wheatfield by Mikko Harvey
Date: August 27, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, host Maggie Smith reflects on the role of seemingly small but deeply meaningful objects and choices in our lives—how they anchor us through change and foster reflection on the paths we’ve taken. Smith reads and explores Mikko Harvey’s poem “Wind-Related Ripple in the Wheatfield,” using it as a lens through which to consider identity, timing, and the gentle, sometimes surprising constants that shape our experience.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Objects as Anchors in a Shifting Life

• Personal Anecdote: Maggie shares her experience moving frequently (“apartment after apartment after apartment”) in her 20s, and the significance of the first decorative object she ever bought: a glass head named Fiona.
  • “Fiona still lives in my house now, in the entryway where she greets anyone who walks in the front door.” (01:54)
• Through Fiona, she explores how certain objects can provide stability and continuity amid life’s unpredictability.

2. The Nature of Change & Timing

• Maggie muses on the “choose your own adventure” quality of life and how alternative choices or different timing might have led to different outcomes.
  • “Who might I have been, or with whom or where, if the timing had been different? Did I arrive too late to certain parts of my life or too early? Or am I right on time?” (02:30)

3. Introduction to Mikko Harvey’s Poem

• Maggie connects Harvey’s poem to her own reflections, suggesting the poet shares a fascination with the small negotiations and pivotal timings in our lives.
  • “The choose your own adventure aspect of life is something on my mind a lot. I suspect it was on this poet’s mind too.” (02:43)

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Poem Segment: “Wind-Related Ripple in the Wheatfield”

(03:00–05:54)

Notable Moments & Lines from Mikko Harvey’s Poem:

• A contemplative walk through a dark apartment:
  • “I love the shape of our apartment as I walk through it in near total darkness. I love walking slowly through that darkness with my arms out, trying not to bump into furniture.” (03:07)
• The recurring theme of movement through different spaces—and wondering whether it is the space or what it holds that we love:
  • “How many apartments have I done this in now? I loved them all. Or possibly I just loved how they held darkness, slivers of street light sneaking into the fortress, amplified and lent personality by the darkness surrounding them.” (03:21)
• Deep observation of presence and interaction:
  • “Wherever you are is a country. Touch it softly to make it stand still.” (03:38)
• Absurd and tender moments of intimacy:
  • “Your hair getting caught in my mouth all the time like a tiny piece of you calling, like a tree trying to speak to a rock by dropping a pinecone on it.” (03:46)
• Meditations on time and missed opportunities:
  • “As if this were the punchline to a joke whose first half I missed. I arrived too late. I typically arrive about three years too late. I wish I had been able to sit in that white, aromatic kitchen and look you in the face. But I was not ready. I was still on my way.” (04:05)
• Imagined perspective and gratitude:
  • “You fried an egg. Is it possible to change who we basically are? Thank you for serving me cups of lemon tea with honey in it, even though such copious amounts of liquid would no doubt drown the insect I imagined myself to be. That was kind of you.” (05:20)

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Notable Quotes

• Maggie Smith on transition and continuity:
  • “Sometimes, despite the many shifting variables, objects can be a constant.” (01:47)
• On alternate lives and choices:
  • “Who might I have been, or with whom or where, if the timing had been different? Did I arrive too late to certain parts of my life or too early? Or am I right on time?” (02:30)
• Mikko Harvey (as read by Maggie Smith):
  • “Wherever you are is a country. Touch it softly to make it stand still.” (03:38)
  • “Is it possible to change who we basically are?” (05:18)
  • “Thank you for serving me cups of lemon tea with honey in it, even though such copious amounts of liquid would no doubt drown the insect I imagined myself to be. That was kind of you.” (05:22)

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Tone & Closing Reflections

• Warm, Contemplative, Slightly Wistful: Maggie’s delivery is gentle and thoughtful, blending personal story and poetic reflection. She invites the listener not just to hear a poem, but to dwell in that poem’s questions—about time, love, identity, and change.
• Encouragement to Pay Attention: The episode closes with a reminder of poetry’s power: to encourage us to notice and reflect, to connect our inner and outer worlds through deliberate attention.

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Useful Timestamps

• 01:00 — Maggie Smith begins her reflection, sharing her moving experiences.
• 02:30 — Reflection on timing and life’s “choose your own adventure” nature.
• 03:00 — Introduction and reading of “Wind-Related Ripple in the Wheatfield.”
• 05:54 — Poem concludes.

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Listeners are invited to carry the poem’s tender attention into their own days, using poetry as a means to live more creatively, compassionately, and attentively.

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Transcript

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[Maggie Smith]

Foreign I'm Maggie Smith and this is the Slowdown. I've lived in my house for almost 16 years, but before that I moved almost every year for 10 years, apartment after apartment after apartment. This meant packing up my things every year when the lease ended and also negotiating with my then partner what to keep, what to get rid of, and where to put everything in the new place. The first decorative object I bought for my first apartment at a first year MFA student 25 years ago was a glass head. I found her in a shop and named her Fiona. Fiona still lives in my house now, in the entryway where she greets anyone who walks in the front door. Sometimes, despite the many shifting variables, objects can be a constant. My life today is very different from my life 25 years ago, but Fiona is still here. Today's poem makes me think about these small negotiations and also about timing, how the lives we're living might have been different if we'd made different choices along the way. Who might I have been, or with whom or where, if the timing had been different? Did I arrive too late to certain parts of my life or too early? Or am I right on time? The choose your own adventure aspect of life is something on my mind a lot. I suspect it was on this poet's mind to two Wind Related Ripple in the Wheat Field by Mikko Harvey I love the shape of our apartment as I walk through it in near total darkness. I love walking slowly through that darkness with my arms out, trying not to bump into furniture. How many apartments have I done this in now? I loved them all. Or possibly I just loved how they held darkness slivers of street light sneaking into the fortress, amplified and lent personality by the darkness surrounding them. Wherever you are is a country. Touch it softly to make it stand still. Your hair getting caught in my mouth all the time like a tiny piece of you calling like a tree trying to speak to a rock by dropping a pine cone on is my intention to listen. But my hands keep giggling while reminding me I don't get to be a human being for very long, as if this were the punchline to a joke whose first half I missed. I arrived too late. I typically arrive about three years too late. I wish I had been able to sit in that white, aromatic kitchen and look you in the face. But I was not ready. I was still on my way. I was lingering inside the perspective of the spider I noticed crawling along the baseboard. You fried an egg. Is it possible to change who we basically are? Thank you for serving me cups of lemon tea with honey in it, even though such copious amounts of liquid would no doubt drown the insect I imagined myself to be. That was kind of you. The Slowdown is a production of American Public Media in partnership with the Poetry Foundation. To get a poem delivered to you daily, go to slowdownshow.org and sign up for our newsletter. And find us on Instagram @downdownshow and [e-mail].

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