Enter Poem

What does it mean to live brightly, even if it doesn’t last?In this episode, we enter First Fig — a four-line masterpiece by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950), one of America’s most luminous and unruly poetic voices.My candle burns at both ends;It will not last the night;But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—It gives a lovely light!Through Millay’s words, Amy reflects on the autumnal art of burning — how the season turns, glows, and gives itself away before surrendering to winter’s quiet & white. She traces Millay’s extraordinary life: her radical independence, her fame, her defiance of literary and social conventions, and her life that, like October itself, blazed with beauty and brevity.Content Note: This episode includes references to illness, addiction, and mortalityMusic Credits: @JonnyEaston This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amysingh.substack.com

Born on 4th October 1856, Dhani Ram Chatrik is often called the father of modern Panjabi poetry.In this episode, we step into Chatrik’s Dohra — a deceptively simple folk-style poem that opens into a tender meditation on life, death, and what we truly take with us when we leave:ਦੋਹੜਾ - ਧਨੀ ਰਾਮ ਚਾਤ੍ਰਿਕ (1876 -1954) ਛਡ ਤ੍ਰਿੰਞਣ, ਕਰ ਸੁੰਞਾ ਵਿਹੜਾ ਤੁਰ ਤੁਰ ਜਾਵਣ ਸਈਆਂ, ਇਕ ਗਈਆਂ, ਇਕ ਡੋਲੇ ਚੜ੍ਹੀਆਂ, ਇਕ ਦਾਜ ਸਮੇਟਣ ਪਈਆਂ, ਅਸਾਂ ਭਿ ਜਾਣਾ, ਢੋਲਣ ਆਇਆਂ, ਪਰ ਚਰਖਾ ਕਿਉਂ ਚਾਈਏ ? ਓਨੀਆਂ ਤੰਦਾਂ ਆਪਣੀਆਂ ਨੇ, ਜਿੰਨੀਆਂ ਕੱਤੀਆਂ ਗਈਆਂ । Translation by Enter Poem: Leaving the spinning circle, my friends all exit the courtyard. One has already gone, one climbs into the bridal palanquin, one gathers her dowry. I too must go, as my betrothed arrives. So why cling to the spinning wheel? Only as many threads are mine, as many I have already spun.Amy Singh reads the poem in Panjabi and English, exploring its cultural and spiritual resonances, and shares how it connects to her own memories of home, loss, and love.Content note/Trigger Warning: This episode discusses themes of death and mortality. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amysingh.substack.com

In this episode we dive into a poem that turns a poolside scene into a profound meditation on love.Hero by Saraswati NagpalPina coladas are served but you continueto perambulate in the pool, past goggle-eyed kidsdiving for pennies, young lovers smooching, andthe fuchsia-clad selfie poser I’m rolling my eyes at.Onward you go, saviour of ditzy bees, drowningdragonflies, delusional spiders, your tender, cuppedhands scooping them from despair to dry tile.In the end, isn’t that love? To carry the fragile heart with gentleness from shore to shore,from cold delusions to the solid warmth of peace.Saraswati Nagpal is a Forward Prize-nominated Indian poet, writer of myth & fantasy, and classical dancer. She is Co-Editor at The Winged Moon literary substack, and is published in The Atlantic, Atlanta Review, Acropolis, Dust, SAND, and others, besides international anthologies. She has been nominated for three Best of the Net and a Pushcart Prize for her poems. Her debut poetry collection is Drench Me in Silver (Black Bough, 2025). You can get a copy here::1. Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/Drench-Me-Silver-India-Asia/dp/93343257632. Internationally across Amazon: https://shorturl.at/82QxISaraswati is also a co-editor of Winged Moon Literary Magazine, which you can follow here: https://thewingedmoon.substack.com/Enter Poem is a slow, soft space to feel poetry. To fall in love with poems. Hosted by poet and writer Amy Singh, this podcast opens the door to poems that arrive just when we need them. In each episode, we enter the heart of a poem, and let it enter ours. Whether it’s a poem Amy has chosen or one loved by a guest, Enter Poem invites you to feel deeply, wonder freely, and linger in language.Music Credits: @JonnyEaston This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amysingh.substack.com

In this episode, we turn to Lucille Clifton, the beloved American poet known for her compact, searing truths. We read her poem “rosh hashanah” from The September Suite, written in the week following 9/11, and reflect on what remains after the disaster:I bear witness to no thing More human than hateI bear witness to no thing More human than loveApples and honey Apples and honeyWhat is not lost Is paradiseIf you’d like to donate to the 2025 Punjab flood relief, you can refer to these NGOs working on the ground:https://www.theglobalsikhs.org/https://hemkuntfoundation.com/https://khalsaaid.org/Enter Poem is a slow, soft space to feel poetry. To fall in love with poems. Hosted by poet and writer Amy Singh, this podcast opens the door to poems that arrive just when we need them. In each episode, we enter the heart of a poem, and let it enter ours. Whether it’s a poem Amy has chosen or one loved by a guest, Enter Poem invites you to feel deeply, wonder freely, and linger in language.Music Credits: @JonnyEaston This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amysingh.substack.com

In this episode, we turn to Shah Hussain — the 16th-century sufi poet remembered for his fearless, timeless voice. We focus on one of his most searing kafis, “Buriyān, buriyān, buriyān ve lokā” talking about wounds sharper than swords, and the spiritual yearning that comes with the path of love.I’m joined by Radhika Sood Nayak, A singer and composer whose love for Sufi music was first kindled by the 17th-century mystic Baba Bulleh Shah’s poetry. Beginning with the Mumbai Kabir Festival, she has travelled with her songs to Kabir Yatras in Rajasthan, Malwa, and Telangana. Shah Hussain’s poetry has deeply inspired her — leading her to compose, collaborate on music videos with theatre artists in Lahore and handloom artists in Kutch, and most recently, to curate Mela Chiraagaa’n – Madho Lal Hussain, a musical narrative dedicated to the poet.For those who want to journey further:* Listen to Samina Hasan Syed’s SoundCloud channel, with her soulful renditions of Sufi poetry.* Read Naveed Alam’s Verses of a Lowly Faqir — an English translation of Madho Lal Hussain’s kafis, available on Amazon.* And dive into Sarbpreet Singh’s novel The Sufi’s Nightingale, which reimagines Shah Hussain’s life and his extraordinary bond with Madho Lal. Read more here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amysingh.substack.com

What does a world without birds sound like? In this episode of Enter Poem, I sit down with poet Kunjana Prashar to wander through her surreal and devastating poem: Poem With No Birds in ItIn this imagined landscape, cuckoo clocks hang upside down, insects inherit the soundscape, and grief becomes so heavy that binoculars are broken in mourning. We talk about what inspired this poem, its strange and tender imagery, texture, sounds and emotional landscapes.Kunjana Parashar is a poet from Mumbai. Her debut poetry book They Gather Around Me, the Animals, selected by Diane Seuss, won the 2024 Barbara Stevens Poetry Book Award. She is the recipient of the Toto Funds the Arts award and the Deepankar Khiwani Memorial Prize. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Poetry Northwest, Sixth Finch, The Adroit Journal, and elsewhere. She is the Managing Editor (Poetry) at The Bombay Literary Magazine.Kunjana's Substack - https://substack.com/@kunjana?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=71hkmKunjana's instagram: holy.squidEnter Poem is a slow, soft space to feel poetry. To fall in love with poems. Hosted by poet and writer Amy Singh, this podcast opens the door to poems that arrive just when we need them. In each episode, we enter the heart of a poem, and let it enter ours.Whether it’s a poem Amy has chosen or one loved by a guest, Enter Poem invites you to feel deeply, wonder freely, and linger in language.Come, enter the poem.Music Credits: What The Heart Sees & Anticipation by Jonny Easton YouTube: @JonnyEaston This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amysingh.substack.com

What if pain wasn't something to flee, but something to feel all the way through? In this episode, we enter Kahlil Gibran’s meditation on pain—from The Prophet—and explore the textures, sounds, and elemental metaphors that make this poem less about suffering and more about becoming.Enter Poem is a slow, soft space to feel poetry. To fall in love with poems. Hosted by poet and writer Amy Singh, this podcast opens the door to poems that arrive just when we need them. In each episode, we enter the heart of a poem, and let it enter ours.Whether it’s a poem Amy has chosen or one loved by a guest, Enter Poem invites you to feel deeply, wonder freely, and linger in language.Come, enter the poem.Music Credits: What The Heart Sees & Anticipation by Jonny Easton YouTube: @JonnyEaston This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amysingh.substack.com

Enter Poem is a slow, soft space to feel poetry. To fall in love with poems. Hosted by poet and writer Amy Singh, this podcast opens the door to poems that arrive just when we need them. In each episode, we enter the heart of a poem, and let it enter ours.Whether it's a poem Amy has chosen or one loved by a guest, Enter Poem invites you to feel deeply, wonder freely, and linger in language. It’s for those who believe poetry isn’t just meant to be read—it’s meant to be experienced.The first episode features Introduction to Poetry by Billy Collins, former U.S. Poet Laureate, known for his wit, warmth, and extraordinary ability to reveal the beauty in the ordinary. His playful yet profound poem becomes a guide for how to meet poetry with curiosity, not interrogation.Come, enter the poem.Music Credits:What The Heart Sees & Anticipation by Jonny EastonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JonnyEaston This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amysingh.substack.com