1500: You believed only a girl born of dandelion can be ferocious by Purvi Shah

Today’s poem is You believed only a girl born of dandelion can be ferocious by Purvi Shah. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Poems are meant to live in the air, to be read aloud, but I also know that form follows function. I want to see the choices the poet made when crafting the piece. Is the poem in couplets, tercets, or sturdy quatrains? Is it in one unbroken stanza with no white space? When I read a poem, knowing that form has the opportunity to enact, or at least reinforce, the content, I learn from the poet’s choices. The stanza shape and length is an opportunity to embody something in the poem, so what did the poet go with? Maybe they chose couplets for a poem about two lovers or a parent and child. Or a prose poem for a piece that is more narrative and casually spoken. Or maybe the poem “explodes” across the field of the page, fragmented and uncontained.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation and get access to the sponsor-free version of The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

You can listen to 1500: You believed only a girl born of dandelion can be ferocious by Purvi Shah online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

1500: You believed only a girl born of dandelion can be ferocious by Purvi Shah is an episode from The Slowdown by American Public Media.

This episode is 00:05:54 long.

This episode was published on Apr 23, 2026.

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