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The Poetry Show: Trees

 
 
Enlighten Radio Presents
 
Stand Still
 
The Bristlecone Pine
A Magnificent collection of Tree Visions: Drink the undrinkable; Through a glass, darkly; The Trees are not lost. Joy Harjo, Adrienne Rich, Christian Wimen, WS Merwin, Jane Hirshfield. Poems of Peace.
Broadcast Wednesdays, 10 AM on player.enlightenradio.org
Hosts: Janet Harrison, John Case
This Episode Recorded April 29, 2026
 
The Bristlecone Pine
by Mary Jane Myers
For centuries, the stalwart pine has stood __in this unwonted spot. Its shallow roots and resinous hard wood __shield it from drought and rot. __Thin soil, high winds, cold air: it thrives where other living things cannot. __Dear tree, please hear my prayer. __Lend me your purple cone to plant inside my heart, its chambers bare, __arteries hard as bone. __For from your potent seed, that germinates on bleak and barren stone, __fresh hope will sprout. Indeed, to love's avowals I'd once again accede.
 
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The Poetry Show: Clouds

 
 
Enlighten Radio Presents
 
I Really Don't Know Clouds. At All.
 
 
Sandra Cisneros, Billy Collins, Mary Oliver, Sara Teasdale, Sara James, Phillis Levin, Joni Mitchell? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgtLZCe-GSM)
Broadcast Wednesdays, 10 AM on player.enlightenradio.org
Hosts: Janet Harrison, John Case
This Episode Recorded April22, 2026
Cloud
by Sandra Cisneros
Before you became a cloud, you were an ocean, roiled and murmuring like a mouth.
You were the shadow of a cloud crossing over a field of tulips.
You were the tears of a man who cried into a plaid handkerchief.
You were a sky without a hat.
Your heart puffed and flowered like sheets drying on a line.
And when you were a tree, you listened to trees and the tree things trees told you.
You were the wind in the wheels of a red bicycle.
You were the spidery Maria tattooed on the hairless arm of a boy in downtown Houston.
You were the rain rolling off the waxy leaves of a magnolia tree.
A lock of straw-colored hair wedged between the mottled pages of a Victor Hugo novel.
A crescent of soap.
A spider the color of a finger nail.
The black nets beneath the sea of olive trees.
A skein of blue wool.
A tea saucer wrapped in newspaper.
An empty cracker tin.
A bowl of blueberries in heavy cream.
White wine in a green-stemmed glass.
And when you opened your wings to wind, across the punched-tin sky above a prison courtyard, those condemned to death and those condemned to life watched how smooth and sweet a white cloud glides.
 
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Enlighten Radio: The Storytelling Hour: April 13: Interesting members of the family

The Poetry Show: Storms

 
 
Enlighten Radio Presents
 
Praise the Rain; it brings more rain.
 
 
The Poetry of storms is high on thematic popularity judging by their presence -- even abundance -- in hundreds of languages. Emily Dickinsen, Mark Van Dorn, Seamus Heany, H.D. (Hilda Doolittle), and Gladys Cardiff give artful and diverse slants on storms. Joy Harjo delivers a magnificent close.
Broadcast Wednesdays, 10 AM on player.enlightenradio.org
Hosts: Janet Harrison, John Case
This Episode Recorded April 8, 2026
Praise the Rain
by Joy Harjo
Praise the rain; the seagull dive The curl of plant, the raven talk— Praise the hurt, the house slack The stand of trees, the dignity— Praise the dark, the moon cradle The sky fall, the bear sleep— Praise the mist, the warrior name The earth eclipse, the fired leap— Praise the backwards, upward sky The baby cry, the spirit food— Praise canoe, the fish rush The hole for frog, the upside-down— Praise the day, the cloud cup The mind flat, forget it all— Praise crazy. Praise sad. Praise the path on which we're led. Praise the roads on earth and water. Praise the eater and the eaten. Praise beginnings; praise the end. Praise the song and praise the singer. Praise the rain; it brings more rain. Praise the rain; it brings more rain.
 
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The Last Stop Cafe: Echoes of Dread

 
Enlighten Radio Presents
The Last Stop Cafe: Echoes of Dread
There is a Horrifying Secret in "the new ballroom . . ."
 
 
Broadcast Thursdays 11 AM on player.enlightenradio.org
Hosts: Mike Cuccherini, John Case, James Boyd
 
Special Guest: Michelle Principi
Mike interviews his co-star, Michelle Principi, as they share screening experiences producing "Echoes of Dread", a horror film that has come back -- this time, to REAL LIFE!
This Episode Recorded April 9, 2026 at the Red Caboose Studio, Harpers Ferry, WV
 
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Enlighten Radio: The Storytelling Hour: April 6: Families

The Last Stop Cafe: Oscar Rumors

 
Enlighten Radio Presents
The Last Stop Cafe: Oscar Rumors
The Natinals are Lookin HOT
 
 
Broadcast Thrsdays 11 AM, player.enlightenradio.org
Hosts: John Case, James Boyd, Mike Cuccherini
for the showboaters this is the boulevard of broken dreams. For hitchikers, this ride stops at area 51. For heroes this is the Heartbreak Hotel. For losers there's no more of that here.
This Episode Recorded April 2, 2026 at the Red Caboose Studio, Harpers Ferry, WV
 
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The Poetry show: April Is The Cruelist Month

 
 
Enlighten Radio Presents
Seize the Time!
April poems golden, April cloudy, Gracious, cruel, tender, rowdy -- some of the many Aprils we thought we knew and the few we could not bear to lose.
Broadcast Wednesdays, 10 AM on player.enlightenradio.org
Hosts: Janet Harrison, John Case
This Episode Recorded April 1, 2026
Let Me Begin Again
by Major Jackson
Let me begin again as a quiet thought in the shape of a shell slowly examined by a brown child on a beach at dawn straining to see their future. Let me begin this time knowing the drumming in my dreams is me inheriting the earth, is morning lighting up the rivers. Let me burn my vanities: old music in the pines, sifters of scotch, a day moon like a signature of night. This time, let me circle the island of my fears only once then live like a raging waterfall and grow a magnificent mustache. Let me not ever be the birdcage or the serrated blade or the empty season. Dear Glacier, Dear Sea of Stars, Dear Leopards disintegrating at the outer limits of our greed; soon we will encounter you only in motivational tweets. Reader, I should have married you sooner. This time, let me not sleep like the prophet who believes he’s seen infinity. Let me run at break-neck speeds toward sceneries of doubt. I have no more dress rehearsals to attend. Look closer: I am licking my lips.
 
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