[encore] 1343: /’mīgrent/ by Tiana Nobile

Summary

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The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

Episode: [Encore] 1343: /’mīgrent/ by Tiana Nobile
Host: Maggie Smith
Date: December 11, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Slowdown features host Maggie Smith reflecting on the meaning, history, and connotations of the word "migrant." Smith thoughtfully examines the impact of language on human dignity, especially in the context of immigration discussions, and introduces Tiana Nobile’s poem /’mīgrent/. Through Nobile’s poem, the episode explores the broader, more hopeful definition of migration—as movement, possibility, and agency—beyond political discourse.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Power and History of Words

• Maggie Smith opens by celebrating the etymology and evolution of words, describing the personal connection and deeper understanding that arises from learning a word’s history.

  • “When I look up the origin of a word, it's like unfolding a map and seeing the journey that word has taken to reach me. Suddenly I know it better. It feels special to me, like a friend.” (01:34)

• Focusing on "migrant", she explains its Latin roots: “Migrant comes from the Latin migrens, meaning changing place. So a migrant is one who moves from place to place. The adjective migratory is related to migrant, as in migratory birds.” (01:55)

The Language of Immigration & Belonging

• Smith discusses the emotionally charged language often used in media and politics regarding immigration, pointing out how words can either strip or restore dignity.

  • She critiques the use of terms like “illegals” and “illegal aliens” for being dehumanizing:

    “Those words carry meaning. They also carry a heavy negative connotation. Those terms are dehumanizing, and I think that's the point.” (03:28)

• The host reflects on the fear and uncertainty faced by immigrant communities, sharing personal accounts from friends who worry about deportation and family separation:

  “I have friends who work at elementary schools and who are afraid that ICE will come and take their students or their students’ parents from school.” (03:50) “This country does not feel like a place of freedom and possibility for those seeking a better life. It feels like an increasingly hostile place.” (04:13)

Reclaiming "Migrant" as Possibility and Freedom

• Shifting the narrative, Smith reframes the word “migrant” as a symbol of movement, opportunity, and agency—connecting it to the natural world and suggesting an inherent freedom in the act of migration:

  “To migrate—whether you can fly or not—is to be free.” (04:48)

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Featured Poem

/’mīgrent/ by Tiana Nobile

(Read by Maggie Smith, 04:52–06:46)

• The poem uses evocative imagery of animals, birds, and seeds to honor resilience and the unbounded nature of those who move.

• Memorable lines include:

  “Of an animal, especially a bird, a wandering species whom no seas nor places limit, A seed who survives despite the depths of hard winter.” (04:58)
  “We of the sky, the dirt and the sea, we the seven league booters and the little by littlers we transmigrated souls will prevail. We will carry ourselves into the realms of light.” (06:23)

• The poem underscores the idea that migration is both natural and heroic, filled with perseverance and hope.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the humane power of language

  “The words we use matter. The language we choose can strip a person's dignity from them or restore that dignity.” (03:16)

• On possibility, not limitation

  “Today's poem looks at the word migrant and its meaning apart from the current political climate…movement from place to place, after all, suggests possibility, opportunity, and agency.” (04:25)

• On overcoming obstacles

  “To find the usual watering places despite the gauze of death that shrouds our eyes, is a breathtaking feat.” (05:24)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:34 — Maggie Smith’s reflection on word origins and their personal meaning
• 03:16 — On the consequence of dehumanizing language
• 04:13 — Testimonies of fear among immigrant communities
• 04:25 — Reframing “migrant” as a term of agency and hope
• 04:52–06:46 — Reading of “/’mīgrent/” by Tiana Nobile

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Episode Tone & Style

The episode is contemplative, gentle, and empathetic. Maggie Smith’s tone is reflective, inviting listeners to slow down and thoughtfully consider the weight of words, the importance of compassion, and poetry’s power to illuminate hidden truths and shared humanity.

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Further Engagement

• To receive a daily poem, Maggie encourages listeners to sign up at slowdownshow.org
• The episode closes with a reminder that poetry helps us “pay attention to ourselves, to each other,” and fosters mindfulness in a hurried world. (07:30)

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This episode is a poignant meditation on language, empathy, and endurance, using both poetic and personal reflection to inspire listeners toward greater awareness and compassion.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome back to Listen to youo Heart. I'm Jerry.

[B]

And I'm Jerry's Heart.

[A]

Today's topic, repatha Evolocimab heart. Why'd you pick this one?

[B]

Well, Jerry, for people who have had a heart attack like us, diet and exercise might not be enough to lower the risk of another one.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

To help know if we're at risk, we should be getting our ldlc, our bad cholesterol checked, and talking to our doctor.

[A]

I'm listening.

[B]

And if it's still too high, Repatha can be added to a statin to lower our LDL C and our heart attack risk.

[A]

Hmm. Guess it's time to ask about Repatha.

[C]

Do not take Repatha if you are allergic to it. Serious allergic reactions can occur. Get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing or swallowing. Swelling of the face, lips, tongue, throat or arms. Common side effects include runny nose, sore throat, common cold symptoms, flu or flu like symptoms, back pain, high blood sugar and redness. Pain or bruising at the injection site.

[A]

Listen to your heart.

[B]

Ask your doctor about Repatha. Learn [e-mail] or call 1-844-repatha hey, it's Maggie.

[D]

This week we are revisiting some of our favorite poems and reflections from the season so far. We'll be back on Monday, December 15th with new episodes.

I'm Maggie Smith, and this is the Slowdown.

One of my favorite things about words is their history. As a writer, I'm curious about the words I choose for my poems. When I look up the origin of a word, it's like unfolding a map and seeing the journey that word has taken to reach me. Suddenly I know it better. It feels special to me, like a friend. Let's take the word migrant, for example. A word I've used in a poem. Migrant comes from the Latin migrens, meaning changing place. So a migrant is one who moves from from place to place. The adjective migratory is related to migrant, as in migratory birds. The verb migrate is related to. On any given day, reading or watching or listening to the news, I'm confronted with divisive arguments about where people belong. All over the world, there are violent conflicts over land invasions and occupations. In the US There is so much talk about our borders and about immigrants, and particularly alarming lately, talk about citizenship. Many of those arguments seem so focused on difference that they ignore our common humanity. The words we use matter. The language we choose can strip a person's dignity from them or restore that dignity. When undocumented immigrants are called illegals or illegal aliens. Those words carry meaning. They also carry a heavy negative connotation. Those terms are dehumanizing, and I think that's the point. I've been listening to the words being used for immigrants, for refugees and for asylum seekers in this country, and I have been watching their mistreatment. I have friends who work at elementary schools and who are afraid that ICE will come and take their students or their students parents from school.

I have friends who are afraid for their loved ones, their neighbors, their co workers.

This country does not feel like a place of freedom and possibility for those seeking a better life. It feels like an increasingly hostile place.

Today's poem looks at the word migrant and its meaning apart from the current political climate movement. From place to place, after all, suggests possibility, opportunity and agency. To migrate whether you can fly or not, is to be free.

Migrant by Tiana Nobil.

Of an animal, especially a bird, a wandering species whom no seas nor places limit, A seed who survives despite the depths of hard winter.

The ripple of a herring steering her band from seas of ice to warmer strands.

To find the usual watering places despite the gauze of death that shrouds our eyes, is a breathtaking feat. Do you ever wonder why we felt like happy birds, brushing our feathers on the tips of leaves? How we lifted our toes from one bank of sand and landed fingertips first on another? Why we clutched the dumb and tiny creatures of flower and blade and sod between our budding fists? From an origin of buried seeds emerge these many banded dagger wings. We of the sky, the dirt and the sea, we the seven league booters and the little by littlers we transmigrated souls will prevail. We will carry ourselves into the realms of light.

The Slowdown is a production of American Public Media in partnership with the Poetry Foundation.

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Poetry teaches us to pay attention to ourselves, to each other, to what we might otherwise hurry past. If the slowdown has been part of your practice of attention, I invite you to make a gift to the slowdown before December 31st. Your support keeps this work going. Please donate [e-mail] or click the link in the show notes and thank you.