Summary4 min read

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

Episode 1538: Maps by Yesenia Montilla
Guest Host: Dianelli Antigua
Date: June 16, 2026

Overview

In this reflective episode, guest host Dianelli Antigua explores the concept of borders and belonging through a personal meditation and the reading of "Maps" by Yesenia Montilla. The episode invites listeners to question the lines — both literal and metaphorical — that divide us, challenging the notion of possession and individuality in favor of shared experience and human connection. Antigua contextualizes Montilla’s poem with anecdotes and insights about the artificiality of borders, ultimately encouraging a vision of a more forgiving, united world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Reflections on Maps and Borders

[00:44 – 02:00]

Dianelli Antigua recalls middle school memories of labeling U.S. states and capitals, expressing uncertainty and second-guessing, and how that early lens framed her view of the world.
Reminisces about playing the board game Risk, seeing it then as “only a game,” but now understands how such games condition us to conceive of the world as something to be owned or conquered.
Contrasts human-drawn lines with satellite images that reveal the earth’s natural, borderless state.
- “Maps are made by people, and people draw lines. Yet satellite images show us that Earth has no lines.”

2. The Illusion and Consequences of Borders

[02:01 – 03:00]

Reflects on how natural boundaries—mountains, rivers, oceans—are ever-changing, emphasizing land's impermanence and shared nature.
Borders both separate and oppress; their impacts are very real even though they are “invisible lines, made visible by their impact.”
- “These lines can separate freedom from oppression. They can decide who belongs and who doesn’t.”

3. Introduction to the Poem: "Maps" by Yesenia Montilla

[03:01 – 03:45]

Antigua previews today’s poem as an exploration of erasing barriers and imagining a world of mutual belonging, where the illusion of ownership is replaced by understanding and community.
- “It asks what it might mean to move through the world without the illusion of ownership, to see one another beyond names and borders.”

Poem: "Maps" by Yesenia Montilla

[03:47 – 05:55]

Antigua reads Montilla’s poem in full. Key themes and memorable lines include:

The Color of Borders & Connection:
- “Some maps have blue borders, like the blue of your name or the tributary lacing of veins running through your father’s hands.”
Desire to Erase Borders:
- “I wish maps would be without borders / and that we belonged to no one and to everyone at once. / What a world that would be.”
- Imagines a world “called something more intrinsic, like forgiving, or something simplistic, like river or dirt.”
On Grief & Memory:
- “And if I were to see you tomorrow and everyone you came from had disappeared, I would weep with you and drown out any black lines that this earth allowed us to give it.”
Critique of Maps as Prisons:
- “Because what is a map but a useless prison? / We are all so lost, and no naming of blank spaces can save us. / And what is a map but the delusion of safety?”
On Lines and Erasure:
- “The line drawn is always in the sand and folds on itself before we're done making it. / And that line there, south of El Rio, how it dares to cover up the bodies, as though we would forget who died there and for what.”
Poignant Closing Image:
- “As if we could forget that if you spin a globe and stop it with your finger, you'll land it on top of someone living, someone who was not expecting to be crushed by thirst.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“[Maps] question what it means to erase borders and barriers... to see one another beyond names and borders.”—Dianelli Antigua [03:38]
“Because what is a map but a useless prison? We are all so lost, and no naming of blank spaces can save us.”—Yesenia Montilla, read by Antigua [05:20]
“As if we could forget that if you spin a globe and stop it with your finger, you'll land it on top of someone living, someone who was not expecting to be crushed by thirst.”—Yesenia Montilla, read by Antigua [05:48]
“Maps are made by people, and people draw lines. Yet satellite images show us that Earth has no lines.”—Dianelli Antigua [01:17]

Structure & Flow

00:44 – 02:00: Personal memories of maps and the realization of their constructed nature.
02:01 – 03:00: Reflection on the real-world impact of borders; invisible but powerful lines.
03:01 – 03:45: Introduction to the theme of the poem and its central questions.
03:47 – 05:55: Full reading of "Maps," highlighting grief, unity, and the tragedy of imposed lines.
05:56 – 06:52: Episode concludes; invitations to join the Slowdown community and resources for further engagement. (Outros omitted as per instructions.)

Tone & Style

Gentle, meditative, and candid, blending personal anecdote with poetic reflection. The episode encourages listeners to consider the arbitrariness and emotional cost of human-made boundaries, lingering on the desire for a more open, compassionate way of seeing the world.

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Transcript4 lines

[00:02]
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[00:31]
Show Host
Hey there. Today's episode is hosted by the poet Dianelli Antigua. Enjoy, and I'll be back on June 22nd.
[00:45]
Dianelli Antigua
I'm Dianelli Antigua, and this is the Slowdown. I remember being in middle school, staring at a blank worksheet trying to label all 50 states and their capitals, my pencil hovering over the page, second guessing myself. Was it Missouri or Montana? Jefferson City or Boise? I'd say their names under my breath, hoping it'd spark my memory. The map on the worksheet reminded me of playing Risk, a board game where the goal is to take over the world. You move small plastic armies across territories, marking them as your own. I never thought of it as anything more than a game. Looking back, I see how it framed the world as something we could possess with little sense of consequence. Maps are made by people, and people draw lines. Yet satellite images show us that Earth has no lines. There's nothing dividing one country from another, just mountains, rivers and oceans tracing their own paths. These natural boundaries can be crossed, reshaped and eroded over time. And the land doesn't belong to anyone. We are visitors only passing through. When we die, the land remains. Yet still we draw lines. These lines can separate freedom from oppression. They can decide who belongs and who doesn't. They are invisible lines, made visible by their impact. We're taught to believe in them as the only answer. Today's poem questions what it means to erase borders and barriers. It imagines a world in which belonging is not something granted or denied, but something we share. It asks what it might mean to move through the world without the illusion of ownership, to see one another beyond names and borders. Maps by Jesenia Montilla for Marcelo. Some maps have blue borders, like the blue of your name or the tributary lacing of veins running through your father's hands. And how the last time I saw you, you held me for so long. I saw whole lifetimes flooding by me, small tentacles reaching for both our faces. I wish maps would be without borders and that we belonged to no one and to everyone at once. What a world that would be. Or not a world. Maybe we would call it something more intrinsic, like forgiving, or something simplistic, like river or dirt. And if I were to see you tomorrow and everyone you came from had disappeared, I would weep with you and drown out any black lines that this earth allowed us to give it. Because what is a map but a useless prison? We are all so lost, and no naming of blank spaces can save us. And what is a map but the delusion of safety? The line drawn is always in the sand and folds on itself before we're done making it. And that line there, south of El Rio, how it dares to cover up the bodies, as though we would forget who died there and for what. As if we could forget that if you spin a globe and stop it with your finger, you'll land it on top of someone living, someone who was not expecting to be crushed by thirst. 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 SlowdownShow and Bluesky. SlowdownShow.
[06:52]
Show Host
Summer is starting, meaning graduations, wedding season and annual holidays where we come together to celebrate. We are also marking a less rosy milestone. One year ago, federal funding for public media like the Slowdown was cut. Listeners like you stepped up to keep this program going as our budget year comes to a close. Your support helps to make sure a daily moment of poetry stays a part of your routine. Donate now@slowdownshow.org or click the link in the show notes.