Summary4 min read

Podcast Summary: The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

Episode 1512: Terra Vita by Lisa Hiton
Host: Maggie Smith
Date: May 11, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Maggie Smith delves deeply into the intricacies of memory, exploring how the mind catalogues our experiences—what it chooses to keep and what it lets fade away. Smith connects these musings to themes of loss and connection, leading into the reading of "Terra Vita" by Lisa Hiton. The episode gently encourages listeners to reflect on how memories—both mundane and profound—shape us, and how poetry can help us navigate these internal landscapes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Mystery of Memory

Maggie opens with a meditation on memory’s unpredictable nature:
- [01:06] “It’s such a strange and dreamlike thing, the memory. Strange and dreamlike in the way it operates, what it picks up and what it leaves lying there, what it holds onto and what it eventually lets go of.”
She wonders aloud why inconsequential details persist while pivotal moments may fade, using the example of remembering a childhood dress over adult conversations.
Smith notes how sensory cues—a smell, sound, or the color of the sky—suddenly bring back vivid memories.

Personal & Collective Memory

[02:04] Smith recalls how the clear blue sky always brings her back to the morning of September 11th, introducing the idea of collective trauma etched in environmental details:
- “Whenever the sky is very clear and very blue, I can’t help but think of the morning of September 11th. Maybe you know what I mean. Hard blue, some people called it.”
She references the 9/11 Memorial Museum art installation by Spencer Finch, “Trying to Remember the Color of the Sky on that September Morning,” comprised of 2,983 shades of blue.
- This connects the collective experience of loss to the individuality of specific memories.

Intro to Today’s Poem

Maggie frames Lisa Hiton’s “Terra Vita” as both an exploration of memory and loss, and as a meditation on the connections forged by our recollections.

Featured Poem: "Terra Vita" by Lisa Hiton

[03:15] Maggie reads the entirety of the poem, weaving in her own gentle and attentive tone.

Memorable Moments from the Poem:

Vivid imagery of a mother gardening and the child’s wide-eyed surprise at seeing a worm cut in half—each segment “working on their own, wriggling back to their underground world to be useful.”
Emotional complexity: The poem ties together the beauty of a sunlit Boston day and the persistent longing for a lost loved one, invoking dreams and the ache of memory.
The poem ends with an intimate prayer:
- “Oh God, you hath given me two hands but only one heart.”

Memorable Quotes & Moments

On memory’s strangeness:
- “I don’t understand the sorting the mind does and how it decides what to put in the keep pile and what to put in the pile labeled give away. I don’t understand it, but I’m so intrigued by it.” (Maggie Smith, 01:24)
About sensory triggers:
- “I love when I’m someplace and I’m reminded of someplace else. In those moments, it’s like my brain is tapping me on the shoulder, trying to get me to make a connection.” (Maggie Smith, 01:30)
On how a clear blue sky evokes collective grief:
- “Meteorologists often describe that deep, intense blue sky as severe clear. What a phrase, given the tragedy that unfolded in the air that day.” (Maggie Smith, 02:23)
From the poem:
- “She reached in, fumbled through the soil. When she found the other half of the worm, she placed it at the base of a flower to show me that it was still alive, that both halves were working on their own, wriggling back to their underground world to be useful.” (Lisa Hiton, as read by Maggie Smith, 03:23)
- “Oh God, you hath given me two hands but only one heart.” (Lisa Hiton, 04:20)

Timestamps for Important Segments

01:06 — Maggie’s reflection on memory and its workings
02:04 — September 11th and the collective memory tied to the color of the sky
02:40 — Spencer Finch’s 9/11 Memorial art installation and its meaning
03:15 — Introduction and reading of “Terra Vita” by Lisa Hiton
04:20 — Closing lines of the poem (emotional culmination)

Episode Tone & Conclusion

The episode is meditative and inviting, maintaining the Slowdown’s hallmark gentle cadence. Maggie Smith’s approach weaves personal intimacy with broader reflections, making poetry a bridge between inner contemplation and shared experience. The reading of “Terra Vita” is poignant and evocative, urging listeners to cherish the odd, beautiful fragments that memory retains.

For Further Reflection

Listeners are encouraged to send in their own favorite poems that inspire a pause, urging a wider community engagement with poetry as a tool for mindfulness and connection.

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Transcript8 lines

[00:01]
A
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[00:32]
B
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[00:42]
C
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[00:45]
B
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[00:52]
C
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[00:54]
B
Anyways, get a quote@libertymutual.com or with your local agent.
[00:57]
A
Liberty, Liberty. Liberty, Liberty.
[01:06]
C
I'm Maggie Smith, and this is the Slowdown. It's such a strange and dreamlike thing, the memory. Strange and dreamlike in the way it operates, what it picks up and what it leaves lying there, what it holds onto and what it eventually lets go of. I don't know why I remember the dress I wore on my eighth birthday, ruffled and beige, tiny blue flowers. While entire important conversations I had in adulthood have slipped away from me, I don't understand the sorting the mind does and how it decides what to put in the keep pile and what to put in the pile labeled give away. I don't understand it, but I'm so intrigued by it. I love when I'm someplace and I'm reminded of someplace else. In those moments, it's like my brain is tapping me on the shoulder, trying to get me to make a connection. Hey, remember that time when it might be the quality of the light or a smell or a sound, or even the sky can be a reminder. For example, whenever the sky is very clear and very blue, I can't help but think of the morning of September 11th. Maybe you know what I mean. Hard blue, some people called it. Meteorologists often describe that deep, intense blue sky as severe clear. What a phrase, given the tragedy that unfolded in the air that day. There's an art installation at the 911 Memorial Museum called Trying to Remember the Color of the sky on that September Morning. The large installation by Spencer Finch is 2,983 watercolors, each a shade of blue. The museum has called Finch's artwork a tribute to the enormity of collective loss and the individuality of each of those who were taken from us far too soon. I admire how today's poem is as much about memory and the connections our minds make as it is about loss. Tara Vida by Lisa Hyten My mother kneeling next to the hibiscus with a little hand shovel planting hyacinths. When I came to watch her, I must have been seven or eight, wide eyed at the vague thing flopping in her hand. She reached in, fumbled through the soil. When she found the other half of the worm, she placed it at the base of a flower to show me that it was still alive, that both halves were working on their own, wriggling back to their underground world to be useful. It's gorgeous in Boston today. Everyone is outside sunbathing just like that day with the worm. And I know I had a dream about you again. Or maybe it was your dream and I was conjured to dwell there so you wouldn't be alone. Why I anticipate forgetting the clouds today, their shapes, how lifelike they are when they drift. Why I remember the worm. It has something to do with skin and pink smokestacks, my palms red before callousing after working at a steer or dragging a heavy load. Oh God, you hath given me two hands but only one heart. 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. Find us on Instagram lodownshow and blueskylowdownshow.org. Hey, it's Maggie. What poems have you sent friends and loved ones to inspire a pause, reflection, or Slow Down? We want you to send us your selections, your favorite poems to be featured in a series of upcoming episodes. Go to the link in our Show Notes to submit or head to our Instagram LowdownShow to learn more.