1493: Stadium by Heather Tone - The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

Summary3 min read

The Slowdown — Episode 1493: Stadium by Heather Tone

Host: Maggie Smith
Date: April 14, 2026

Overview

This episode of The Slowdown with Maggie Smith honors National Poetry Month and delves into the poetic and philosophical exploration of impermanence, life, and death. Maggie draws from her own life experience of coping with upheaval and searching for calm, setting the stage for Heather Tone’s poem “Stadium.” The episode thoughtfully weaves together personal reflection, Buddhist teachings on “maranasati” (death-awareness meditation), and the reading of a poem that contemplates mortality through the lens of love and connection.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Maggie’s Personal Journey with Change and Mindfulness

Post-Divorce Reflection:
Maggie opens up about her own marriage ending and the unexpected path her life took. She shares the anxiety and the search for comfort and perspective through various practices and philosophies.
Embracing Eastern Philosophy:
Rather than turning to self-help books about divorce, Maggie finds solace in Buddhist wisdom, particularly Pema Chödrön’s When Things Fall Apart and the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
Meditation as a Challenge and Necessity:
Maggie acknowledges her own restless mind—“My mind is loud and often working overtime, and I tend toward rumination and worrying.” (02:11) She confesses that meditation is difficult for her, but perhaps all the more crucial because of that.

Contemplation of Death as a Path to Living Fully

Introducing Maranasati (Death-Awareness Meditation):
Maggie introduces the Buddhist practice of maranasati, outlining its ancient origins and purpose—to deepen our appreciation of life by confronting its impermanence.
Counterintuitive Hopefulness:
She reframes the practice not as dark, but as potentially “uplifting instead of depressing, encouraging us to live fully in the present with less fear.” (03:20)

The Poem: “Stadium” by Heather Tone

Preview and Themes:
Maggie explains that the poem walks through the emotional journey of maranasati, with the speaker ultimately ruminating on the death of a loved one rather than their own.
- Quote: “Today's poem takes us on the speaker's journey through maranasati by moving through the unimaginable. The poet finds beauty in the unexpected.” (03:32)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Meditation and Self-Compassion:
“There's so much in Eastern philosophy about being present, embracing impermanence, and having self compassion. Books written from a Buddhist perspective were the ones that brought me the most peace.” (01:29)
The Reluctant Meditator:
“I wasn't great at meditation. My mind is loud and often working overtime, and I tend toward rumination and worrying. The reason it's challenging for me is probably the reason I should be doing it.” (02:11)
On Death as Clarifying:
“Maybe thinking about death can be uplifting instead of depressing, encouraging us to live fully in the present with less fear.” (03:20)
Mary Oliver Reference:
Maggie cites Mary Oliver’s famous line—“our one wild and precious life”—to reinforce poetry's power to illuminate the stakes and beauty of existence.

Poem Segment — “Stadium” by Heather Tone

Reading begins at: 04:01

The poem unfolds as a meditation, but instead of the speaker focusing on their own death, their thoughts pivot to the death of a loved one.
Vivid imagery of dissolution contrasts with the tangible sense of absence—“organs crumbling like burnt toast… me dissolving.”
The imagery of a loved one’s absence is rendered through everyday life—“sudden emptiness on the couch, my ear against the phone, emptiness walking the floor.”
Longing and regret surface: “I always thought I'd be near to say some final sentence…”
The final image: a mind that “draws back,” with “tiny fires grow brighter in my body until it turns to stadium light”—suggesting enlightenment, clarity, or a life-affirming transformation.

Timestamps for Important Segments

00:35–03:32 — Maggie’s personal reflection on change, Buddhist philosophy, meditation, and introducing maranasati.
03:33–04:01 — Segue into the poem; contextualization of today’s piece.
04:01–06:00 — Poem “Stadium” by Heather Tone, read by Maggie Smith.
06:01–end — Brief closure and encouragement to deepen daily connection with poetry (skip for core content).

Episode Tone & Flow

Maggie Smith’s delivery is empathetic, contemplative, and gently encouraging. She weaves her own vulnerability into the episode, paralleling the poem’s intimacy and providing a warm, reflective companion for listeners. The episode is ideal for listeners seeking solace, perspective, or a gentle reminder of life’s preciousness through the practice and appreciation of poetry.

For further engagement with poetry and The Slowdown community, listeners are encouraged to visit slowdownshow.org.

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Transcript1 lines

[00:01]
A
Happy Poetry Month Friends of the Slowdown are invited to celebrate with a special offer from Poetry Magazine this April. An annual subscription to Poetry includes a limited edition notebook. The notebook features a devious quote from Dorothy Elaski on its cover. I'm almost always lying in a poem and the full poem is inside. Use the notebook for your own poems, lies and secrets. Subscribe today@poetrymagazine.org lying each episode of the Slowdown offers you a moment of attention, a poem and reflection that shift your perspective during busy days. In celebration of National Poetry Month, you can now receive an added benefit when you support the Slowdown, a sponsorship free version of the podcast. Keep your listening centered on poetry because the best moments of your day are uninterrupted. Learn more when you make your gift@downdownshow.org and thank you. I'm Maggie Smith and this is the Slowdown. Several years ago my marriage ended and with it the life I expected to have. I had no idea what the rest of my life would look like. I was freaked out, to put it mildly, and I turned to anything I thought might help calm me down and give me greater perspective. I tried meditation, I tried yoga, I tried exercise, I tried the advice of books. I suppose I could have been reading about divorce, but instead I read Pema Chodron's When Things Fall Apart, which a poet friend sent to me. The Tibetan Book of the Dead. It makes sense, really. There's so much in Eastern philosophy about being present, embracing impermanence, and having self compassion. Books written from a Buddhist perspective were the ones that brought me the most peace. That said, I wasn't great at meditation. My mind is loud and often working overtime, and I tend toward rumination and worrying. The reason it's challenging for me is probably the reason I should be doing it. Meditation on death awareness, called maranasati, is one of the oldest practices in all Buddhist traditions. It may seem morbid to make a practice from contemplating your own death while you're still alive, but the idea of your death is probably affecting the way you live. The idea behind maranasati is that by facing our own inevitable death, we acknowledge the impermanent nature of everything and we deepen our understanding of what it means to be alive. Maybe we feel more grateful for, in Mary Oliver's words, our one wild and precious life. Maybe thinking about death can be uplifting instead of depressing, encouraging us to live fully in the present with less fear. Today's poem takes us on the speaker's journey through maranasati by moving through the unimaginable. The poet finds beauty in the unexpected. Stadium by Heather Tone I did a meditation on death. I was supposed to think of my own death but I thought of yours instead. I did the meditation and then I was thinking of you floating like a red shirt. Blank sky. I was supposed to be imagining the decay of my own body, Organs crumbling like burnt toast, me dissolving. I saw a gull lift and followed the flapping until waves ate the body or sun did. I could almost imagine myself going quietly dark as an eight ball. But your dying just meant sudden emptiness on the couch, my ear against the phone Emptiness walking the floor. I always thought I'd be near to say some final sentence. Our blue canoe beached somewhere along the Ruby we grew the seedlings they gave us at school into real trees. How much because of you my life has been driven by love. I saw you driving away then imagined the unreal second before where I reached for your keys, threw them into a lake Waited for the ripples to be gone. 000 in the dark in the water 0 Messiah I draw my mind back as one is supposed to. Tiny fires grow brighter in my body until it turns to stadium light. 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, LodownShow and Bluesky. Slowdownshow.org. Hi, it's Maggie. The Slowdown is the only poetry podcast in public media. That means your support is vital to to keep us going. No matter how much you give, your contribution makes a real difference. Head to slowdownshow.org donate today to power more poems into the Future.