[encore] 1174: Separation Wall by Naomi Shihab Nye

Summary

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily – Episode 1174: "Separation Wall" by Naomi Shihab Nye

Release Date: July 10, 2025
Host: Major Jackson
Produced by: American Public Media in partnership with The Poetry Foundation
Supported by: National Endowment for the Arts

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Introduction: Curating Community Voices (01:02 - 01:27)

The episode begins with Micah Kielbon, the producer of The Slowdown, reflecting on the show's past initiatives. Last year, the community was invited to curate poems that resonate with them amidst a bustling world. Micah shares, “This was one of our favorite weeks of episodes, and we wanted to return to them as we revisit episodes in the archives between seasons.” This episode features a curated selection, emphasizing the collective effort to find poetry that helps listeners pause and reflect.

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Community Insight: Maytal Kupfer's Reflection (01:27 - 02:30)

Maytal Kupfer, a community curator from Washington, D.C., offers a profound perspective on the role of poetry in turbulent times. Maytal states:

“Poetry is allowing us in this moment to be expansive with our empathy and our drive to imagine a better world and a better future.”
(01:45)

She delves into the complexities of ongoing conflicts, specifically referencing the long-standing siege on Gaza and Rafah. Maytal emphasizes the importance of understanding historical contexts:

“What started eight months ago has continued for the last 80 years, how we amplify our enemies into unimaginable things that are the opposite of normal.”
(02:10)

Her reflection underscores poetry's ability to humanize statistics and remind us of our shared humanity amidst crises.

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Host's Reflection: Major Jackson on Belgrade and Global Conflicts (02:30 - 08:06)

Major Jackson, the host, shares his personal experiences from a summer visit to Belgrade, Serbia. He recounts attending poetry readings, savoring traditional Serbian cuisine, and connecting with local artists. Major highlights the city's vibrant cultural scene juxtaposed with lingering scars from the Yugoslav wars:

“Belgrade is a bustling city with fine cafes and a vibrant artistic community. Throughout my visit, I was reminded of the region's armed conflicts in the 1990s.”
(03:15)

He discusses conversations with a Serbian colleague about deep-rooted ethnic divisions, noting:

“She stressed that I would never understand.”
(04:00)

Major reflects on the inadequacies of political leadership in healing historical wounds:

“We fail to rectify the pains of the past and the horrors of today. It feels like we have no language to counter the drive toward nationalist loyalties, nor to counter the fear mongering by leaders that flood tides of destructive hate.”
(05:30)

Referencing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he underscores the destructive cycle of vengeance:

“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that this kind of violence destroys communities and makes humanity impossible.”
(06:45)

Major emphasizes the transformative power of poetry in fostering empathy and healing:

“Poetry makes us conscious that we are more than the fabricated narratives that degrade our humanity, more than the compensatory rhetoric of superiority.”
(07:15)

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Poem Spotlight: "Separation Wall" by Naomi Shihab Nye (07:30 - 08:00)

The episode features "Separation Wall" by Naomi Shihab Nye, a poignant exploration of division and longing for normalcy. Major Jackson recites key excerpts:

“When milk is sour, it separates. The next time you stop speaking, ask yourself why you were born.”
(07:35)

“I feel like a normal person with fantastic dilemmas. Do I make rounds or sticks? Shall I trim the seeds?”
(07:50)

“I ask my grandmother if there was ever a time she felt like a normal person every day, not in danger, and she thinks for as long as it takes a sun to set and says yes, I always feel like a normal person.”
(08:00)

The poem delves into personal and collective struggles with identity, fear, and the desire for a peaceful existence beyond the metaphorical walls that divide us.

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Conclusion: Embracing Humanity Through Poetry

Major Jackson concludes by reiterating the essential role of poetry in bridging divides and nurturing a shared humanity. He reflects on the tender visions poems offer, allowing us to soften our fears and embrace each other more fully. The episode serves as a reminder of poetry's enduring power to inspire empathy, facilitate healing, and encourage reflection in a world often marked by conflict and separation.

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Connect with The Slowdown:

• Website: slowdownshow.org
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• Instagram: @slowdownshow

The Slowdown is produced by American Public Media in partnership with The Poetry Foundation and supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Transcript

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[Micah Kielbon]

Hi, it's Slowdown producer Micah Kielbon. Last year we asked our community of listeners to help us curate poems we share on the show. To submit poems that have helped you pause and reflect in this busy world. This was one of our favorite weeks of episodes, and we wanted to return to them as we revisit episodes in the archives between seasons. Here's one of our community curators to tell you why they want you to hear this poem.

[Maytal Kupfer]

My name is Maytal Kupfer, I use they them pronouns, and I live in Washington, DC. Poetry can be construed often as empty words, while in the outside world we have rubble, we have burned bodies, we have the desecration of humanity. But I think poetry is also allowing us in this moment to be expansive with our empathy and our drive to imagine a better world and a better future. We talk about the current siege on Gaza, on Rafah, as current without recognizing or understanding. What started eight months ago has continued for the last 80 years, how we amplify our enemies into unimaginable things that are the opposite of normal. And as I just mentioned, what does it take, what does it really take for us to triumph over statistics, numbers? And I really want people to understand that we all are trying to be normal people with fantastic dilemmas.

[Major Jackson]

I'm Major Jackson and this is the Slowdown. This summer I visited Belgrade. I gave a poetry reading and met wonderful people, artists and poets alike. I ate traditional Serbian food and was grateful for new friends who helped me navigate the language. Belgrade is a bustling city with fine cafes and a vibrant artistic community. Throughout my visit I was reminded of the region's armed conflicts in the 1990s. Some areas of the city seemed to wear its scars. Deep ethnic divisions defined the Yugoslav wars, whose roots, I was told by a Serbian born colleague, went back centuries. She stressed that I would never understand. I try to process the global conflicts of today and yesterday. I am heartbroken by large scale deaths, by rhetoric that feeds more cruelty and contempt. What strikes me is the inadequacy of political statesmanship, not just in solving issues between nations, but in facilitating healing. Prevailing systems of thought leave us empty in addressing entrenched feelings of retribution and stoked divisions. We fail to rectify the pains of the past and the horrors of today. It feels like we have no language to counter the drive toward nationalist loyalties, nor to counter the fear mongering by leaders that flood tides of destructive hate. This is never more evident than during elections and manipulative talk of borders. Coexistence on the planet demands that we transcend reactionary treatment of each other. For this reason we need poems to tease out our innocence, that part of us untouched by the callousness of the world, to bring us to a sanity beyond inherited hurts and old fears. Away from the logic of an eye to for an eye, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Said that this kind of violence destroys communities and makes humanity impossible. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers. Poetry makes us conscious that we are more than the fabricated narratives that degrade our humanity, more than the compensatory rhetoric of superiority. Artful language has the possibility of elevating our entire existence. Today's poem reminds me once again the power of a tender vision, how we are capable of softening our fears of each other and widening ourselves to an expanded embrace of humanity. Separation Wall by Naomi Shehab Nye when milk is sour, it separates. The next time you stop speaking, ask yourself why you were born. They say they are scared of us. The nuclear bomb is scared of the cucumber. When my mother asked me to slice cucumbers, I feel like a normal person with fantastic dilemmas. Do I make rounds or sticks? Shall I trim the seeds? I ask my grandmother if there was ever a time she felt like a normal person every day, not in danger, and she thinks for as long as it takes a sun to set and says yes, I always feel like a normal person. They just don't see me as one. We would like the babies not to find out about the failures waiting for them. I would like them to believe on the other side of the wall is a circus that just hasn't opened yet. Our friends learning how to juggle to walk on tall Pol the Slowdown is a production of American Public Media in partnership with the Poetry Foundation. This project is also supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. On the [e-mail] to get a poem delivered to you daily, go to slowdownshow.org and sign up for our newsletter and find us on Instagram @downdownshow.

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