1454: Katherine with the Lazy Eye. Short. And Not a Good Poet by francine j. harris

Summary

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Episode Overview

Episode Title: 1454: Katherine with the Lazy Eye. Short. And Not a Good Poet by francine j. harris
Host: Samia Bashir (Guest hosting for Maggie Smith)
Date: February 11, 2026
Podcast: The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

This episode of The Slowdown centers on the value, complexity, and dignity of lives often relegated to the periphery. Samia Bashir introduces and reflects on francine j. harris’s poem “Katherine with the Lazy Eye. Short. And Not a Good Poet,” delving into themes of identity, judgment, empathy, and how we see—and avoid seeing—each other.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Challenging the Limits of Meritocracy ([01:20])

• Samia Bashir opens with the story of Olympic gymnast Wendy Hilliard, whose athletic career was derailed due to racially-coded decisions.
  • Quote: “...the way that we see each other has nothing to do per se with who they are, but with who we are.” ([01:55])
• Bashir observes how society’s gaze, often rooted in prejudice, can eclipse achievement or worth, applying this idea to all walks of life: sports, poetry, food service, family, intimacy, and more.

2. Universal Experience of Being Seen and Unseen ([02:24])

• The introduction bridges experiences across identity, emphasizing: “Everyone is a hero to someone, or a beauty or a problem, or all of the above.”
• The idea emerges that merely existing—being oneself—can be an act of resistance or challenge, especially when “being” doesn’t fit the comfort zone of others.

3. Poem Presentation: “Katherine with the Lazy Eye. Short. And Not a Good Poet” by francine j. harris ([03:08])

• Bashir frames the poem as “brutal, identifiable honesty,” foregrounding its insistence on recognizing both flaws and lovability.
• The poem is read in full, deploying vivid narrative and introspection about Katherine, observed through the lens of the speaker’s own grudges, biases, and guilt.

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Highlights from the Poem

Observing and Judging Katherine ([03:25] – [06:45])

• The poem opens with news of Katherine’s death: “This morning I heard you were found in your McDonald’s uniform.”
• The speaker recalls dismissive attitudes from others: “Catherine short with a lazy eye. Poet. Not a very good one. Yeah, well, she died.”
• The poem moves through fragmented memories: awkward interactions at open mics, at McDonald’s, in shared spaces, laced with discomfort and judgment.
• The speaker is honest about her negative impressions: “I didn’t like you since the first time I saw you at McDonald’s. You had a mop and you were letting some homeless dude flirt with you.” ([04:37])
• Self-reflection manifests: The speaker recognizes how Katherine’s behavior and vulnerability might mirror parts of herself.
  • Quote: “That sometimes you reminded me of myself. Boy crazy. That sometimes I think people just don’t tell me that I’m kind of, well, slow.” ([04:19])
• The refrain “Katherine with the lazy eye, short and not a good poet” repeats, mirroring both the judgments cast upon Katherine and the speaker’s internal struggle.

Empathy and Regret ([05:35 – 06:30])

• As the poem nears its end, the speaker’s avoidance becomes a form of grief and shame.
  • Quote: “I avoided you in the hallway. I avoided you in lunch line. I avoided you in the lake. I avoided you, my lazy eye.” ([05:52])
• Deep remorse and the unbearable reality of Katherine’s vulnerability and fate reveal themselves:
  • Quote: “You should have been immune. You were supposed to be a cartoon. Your body was supposed to be as twisted as if was going to get. Short and not a good poet. Katherine with no I no more.” ([06:10])
• The poem closes with a return to dignity:
  • Quote: “Somewhere someone has already asked what was she like? And a woman has brought out her wallet and said, this is her. This is my beautiful baby.” ([06:36])

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Memorable Quotes

• Samia Bashir ([01:50]):
  “Sometimes the way that we see each other has nothing to do per se with who they are, but with who we are.”
• francine j. harris (Poem, [04:19]):
  “That sometimes you reminded me of myself. Boy crazy. That sometimes I think people just don’t tell me that I’m kind of, well, slow.”
• francine j. harris (Poem, [05:52]):
  “I avoided you in the hallway. I avoided you in lunch line. I avoided you in the lake. I avoided you, my lazy eye.”
• francine j. harris (Poem, [06:36]):
  “Somewhere someone has already asked what was she like? And a woman has brought out her wallet and said, this is her. This is my beautiful baby.”

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Notable Moments & Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |---------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:20 | Samia Bashir’s introduction, thematic framing referencing Wendy Hilliard | | 02:24 | Discussion on social identity, the gaze, and everyone’s multiplicity | | 03:08 | Setup to today’s poem and its central themes | | 03:25-06:45 | Full reading of “Katherine with the Lazy Eye” | | 06:36 | Poem’s final reflection—dignity in being loved by someone |

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Episode Tone & Language

• Reflective and Unflinching: Bashir and the poem’s speaker both approach the episode with honesty, allowing discomfort, regret, and complicated feelings to surface.
• Empathetic and Direct: Neither shies from naming bias or bitterness, aiming ultimately toward understanding and the preciousness of every life.
• Conversational and Poetic: Language is crisp and literary but maintains a sense of immediacy and accessibility, inviting listeners into the emotional world of the poem.

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Takeaways

• The episode urges listeners to interrogate how our judgments and avoidance are often rooted in self-reflection, discomfort, and sometimes, fear of seeing ourselves in others we dismiss.
• The poem and discussion together serve as a call to notice the inherent worth and singular experience in everyone—even, or especially, those deemed “unlovable.”
• In its closing lines, the episode gently reminds us: behind every caricature or label lies someone’s “beautiful baby,” deserving of love and dignity.

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Transcript

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[Maggie]

Hi, it's Maggie. For the next two weeks of episodes, friend of the show Samia Bashir will be sharing poems with you every morning. I'll be back in the host chair on February 18th.

[Samia Bashir]

I'm Samia Bashir, and this is the slowdown. In the 1980s, despite being the top ranked rhythmic gymnast in the United States and among the world's best, Wendy Hilliard, one of my personal heroes, was sidelined in the early Olympic era of the sport through racially coded re ranking, a decision she fought, formally challenged and overturned, exposing the limits of meritocracy in elite athletics, much like the powers that be who decided that a young, busty black girl must not be allowed to represent the U.S. sometimes the way that we see each other has nothing to do per se with who they are, but with who we are. Sometimes we challenge each other just by being, because being is complicated, it's difficult, and none of us can be reduced to each other's outside gaze, whether that's women in sports and any kind of women, cis, trans, intersex, young, old, every kind of race or in poetry, in food service, in search of intimacy, in a family. Thing is everyone is a hero to someone, or a beauty or a problem, or all of the above. Today's poem acknowledges exactly that with a brutal, identifiable honesty. But what this poet insists that we remember is how we are all also, even if not loved, then so, so very lovable. Catherine with the lazy eye, Short and not a good poet. By Francine J. Harris this morning I heard you were found in your McDonald's uniform. I heard it while I was visiting a lake town where empty, woodsy highways turn into waterside drives. I'd forgot my toothbrush and was brushing with My finger. When a friend who didn't know you said he heard it like, you know, Catherine short with a lazy eye. Poet. Not a very good one. Yeah, well, she died. The blue on that lake fogs off into the horizon like Styrofoam. The picnic tables full of white people. I ask them where the coffee is, they say admire. I wonder if you thought about getting out of Detroit. When you read at the open mic, you'd point across the street at McDonald's and told us to come see you. Catherine with the lazy eye, short and not a good poet. I guess I almost cried. I don't know why. Because I didn't like you. This is the first time I remembered your name. I didn't like how you followed around a married man. That your poems sucked and that I figured they were all about the married man. That sometimes you reminded me of myself. Boy crazy. That sometimes I think people just don't tell me that I'm kind of, well, slow. Catherine with the lazy eye, short and not a good poet. I didn't like your lazy eye. Always looking at me. That you called me by my name. I didn't like you since the first time I saw you at McDonald's. You had a mop and you were letting some homeless dude flirt with you. I wondered then if you thought that was the best you could do. I wondered then if it was Katherine with the lazy eye, short and not a good poet. You were too silly to wind up dead in an abandoned building. I didn't like you because what was I supposed to tell you? What? Don't let them look at you like that, Catherine. Don't let them get you alone. You don't get to laugh like that. Like nothing's gonna get you. Not everyone will forgive the slow girl. Catherine with the fucked up I short poetry sucked. Musta knew better. I avoided you in the hallway. I avoided you in lunch line. I avoided you in the lake. I avoided you, my lazy eye. Catherine with one hideous eye. Shit. Poetry for boys again. You should have been immune. You were supposed to be a cartoon. Your body was supposed to be as twisted as if was going to get. Short and not a good poet. Catherine with no I no more. I avoided you. Hated it when you said my name. I really want to leave Detroit. Catherine the lazy, short, not a good poet and shit. Somewhere someone has already asked what was she like? And a woman has brought out her wallet and said, this is her. This is my beautiful baby. 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 blueskylowdownshow.org.

[Maggie]

Hi, it's Maggie. Thanks for listening to the Slowdown. Whether you press play to find calm or vivid inspiration or we're glad you're here. As a public media podcast, we rely on listener support to share these moments of poetry. Please consider donating [e-mail] donate.