There's a Poem in That

Send us Fan MailWhen Alexa loses her mother to a sudden heart attack on Mother’s Day—just one year after her father dies of cancer—grief doesn’t arrive as a single blow, but as a cascade. At 23, she becomes a de facto parent to her teenage brother alongside her younger sister, the three of them bound together by loss, responsibility, and a fragile, hard-won love.Alexa’s story moves through the complexity of mourning two very different parents: a deeply optimistic, spiritually driven father whose mantra—think positive—still echoes, and a mother whose long struggle with alcoholism left behind both compassion and unresolved pain. As Alexa reckons with identity, faith, and the aftershocks of an abusive relationship, she begins to rebuild: through community, sobriety, grief work, and a renewed relationship with God.Across months of conversation, a portrait emerges—not of someone lost, but someone actively finding her way. In the end, the poem she thought she needed becomes something else: not a map out of grief, but a blessing forward. A father’s voice, refracted through a stranger, reminding her that the life she’s building—grounded in love, responsibility, and choice—is already its own kind of answer.CHAPTERS1. Mother’s Day Alexa gets the call no one is prepared for, and within hours she and her siblings are standing in a hospital room, clinging to each other as a new understanding takes hold: it will be the three of them now.2. When Loss Compounds Just a year earlier, their father died of cancer. As even more family members pass in close succession, Alexa feels like the ground beneath her life is continually giving way, forcing her into adulthood faster than expected.3. The Three of Us At just 23, Alexa steps into a role she never imagined, helping to raise her teenage brother alongside her younger sister. Together, they form a fragile but determined unit, learning how to divide responsibility, resolve conflict, and become each other’s anchor in a world unmoored.4. What Remains of ThemAlexa struggles to juggle contrasting legacies of her parents: her father’s relentless positivity and spiritual conviction, and her mother’s complicated battle with alcoholism. Grief becomes tangled with identity, faith, and unanswered questions—especially the kind that come from loving someone you couldn’t save.5. Patterns We Inherit Alexa begins to see how her parents’ fractured marriage shaped her understanding of love, a blueprint that followed her into an abusive relationship of her own. Breaking free, she is choosing herself for the first time.6. Finding a Way Forward Months later, small but meaningful changes begin to take hold as Alexa turns toward healing—through grief groups, Al-Anon, and a growing sense of purpose. She begins to imagine a future in health and life coaching.7. Faith, Reclaimed In an unexpected turn, Alexa reconnects with spirituality, discovering a version of faith that feels expansive rather than divisive. 8. The Blessing Todd's poem, "Blessing,"—woven around her father’s own handwritten words—lands not as an answer to grief, but as an affirmation of the path she’sSupport the showJoin the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.Follow us on Facebook.

Send us Fan MailHe broke a man's jaw to go undefeated on national TV—and felt nothing.Think Mike Lee’s pro boxing career looks like a dream? Inside the ring, yes, he was impressive. But outside of it, the pros and cons weren't passing weigh-ins."You'd think that someone who punched other people in the face for a living would want to do a podcast about poems, but ... here we are."In this episode of There’s a Poem in That, we follow Mike through the final bout of his boxing career—and the invisible fight that was already well underway. What emerges is a story about more than sport. It’s about the addiction to intensity, the emotional crash that follows achievement, and the quiet ways identity can become tied to performance."I'm actually ironically an extremely empathetic, un-confrontational person."Over years of competition, Mike chased the feeling that winning was supposed to bring. But the highs didn’t last. The lows got lower. And eventually, his body began to break down in ways no one could fully explain—until a diagnosis of Lyme disease helped make sense of the pain, exhaustion, and confusion that had been shaping his career all along.His retirement didn’t end the fight—it only changed it.In highlights from 3 hours of intimate interview, you'll hear about: The psychology of high performance and adrenaline  Depression and emotional flat-lining after success  Chronic illness and invisible symptoms  Losing an identity built since childhood  Redefining masculinity, vulnerability, and fatherhood At the center is a quieter question: If you’re not what you achieve… who are you?And what happens when you no longer need to prove you're enough?If this episode resonates, share it with someone who’s been chasing a high—and leave a review with the line that stayed with you.Support the showJoin the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.Follow us on Facebook.

Send us Fan MailA love expert's love life inspires a poem that just might become a lifelong companion. In this intimate exchange conducted over the course of ten months, Brooke brings us along on the roller coaster of her dating life, all the while attempting to locate the heart of the problem. Todd finds the soul of it. Support the showJoin the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.Follow us on Facebook.

Send us Fan MailPart 1 of a 3-part "upside-down" episode! This upside-down 3-part edition of TAPIT opens on a poem, and ends on a dream. When Todd knocks on a stranger’s door to deliver a poem he wrote about the occupant three years ago when he lived across the street from her, a surprising friendship unfolds. Support the showJoin the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.Follow us on Facebook.

Send us Fan MailPart 2 of a 3-part "upside-down" episode! This upside-down 3-part edition of TAPIT opens on a poem, and ends on a dream. When Todd knocks on a stranger’s door to deliver a poem he wrote about the occupant three years ago when he lived across the street from her, a surprising relationship unfolds. Support the showJoin the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.Follow us on Facebook.

Send us Fan MailPart 3 of a 3-part "upside-down" episode! This upside-down 3-part edition of TAPIT opens on a poem, and ends on a dream. When Todd knocks on a stranger’s door to deliver a poem he wrote about the occupant three years ago when he lived across the street from her, a surprising relationship unfolds. Support the showJoin the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.Follow us on Facebook.

Send us Fan MailWhen a concert bassoonist is canceled for her refusal to get vaccinated, a whole new universe opens, her father’s star burning brightest. Disclaimer:  The views expressed in this episode about vaccines, medical care, and esotericism do not represent those on the TAPIT team.Support the showJoin the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.Follow us on Facebook.

Send us Fan MailA stroke victim must override paralysis to meet Todd halfway between hemispheres in this intimate exploration of nonverbal disability. But "any dance worth doing is struggle…"Chapters in this Episode:Our initiativesThe history of danceBreaking down bordersJackie joins inThe power of poetryThe poem: "In Praise of Your Aphasia"Support the showJoin the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.Follow us on Facebook.

Send us Fan MailPhillip's new US citizenship status is the celebratory focus of this episode of TAPIT. It's a celebration 30 years in the making, and it ends in a custom poem worthy of an inauguration. Join us on the journey of a lifetime, as Phillip overcomes rage, discovers love, changes careers, adopts a new name, and learns to see the beauty in his own immigration story.  Host Todd Boss traces Phillip's path of self-authorship from Vegas to Baja to Mexico City to Texas to Hollywood, and back to Vegas, in a tale filled with setbacks and surprises... then taps President Barack Obama's 2009 inaugural poet Richard Blanco to guest write an extraordinary poem of rejoicing and recognition, that elicits a tear for every step along the way. Chapters in this episode: What's in a name?How a place makes (and unmakes and remakes) a personPhillip finds himself in fiction and filmThe intricacies of immigration and the Texas/Mexico divideLearning and loving in Las VegasCarving a path to citizenship and the truth about timingTaking the law into his own handsBringing in BlancoThe poem, Your Name :: My NameA wordless reaction says it allThis episode is dedicated to Phillip's mother, Olivia de Lourdes Meneses Moguel, and to mothers everywhere who read to their children.Support the showJoin the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.Follow us on Facebook.

Send us Fan MailSome of America’s most celebrated poets are standing by to write poems for you on commission. Together, they form The International Bureau of Custom Poetry. More about the Bureau here.In this special introductory episode, Bureau agent Dorianne Laux recounts her path from gas station attendant to Pulitzer Prize finalist, including a cameo of her mother at the sewing machine in Dorianne’s poem, “Singer.”Do you have a loved one you’d like memorialized in a poem? Or a precious memory you’d like preserved for the ages? Dorianne Laux and the other professional poets in the Bureau are standing by to work with you. Sessions can be private or taped for potential use on TAPIT. Visit our website to enquire. Or call our listener line at 808-300-0449.Support the showJoin the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.Follow us on Facebook.

Send us Fan MailSome of America’s most celebrated poets are standing by to write poems for you on commission. Together, they form The International Bureau of Custom Poetry. More about the Bureau here.In this micro-episode, Bureau agent Sasha LaPointe shares her writing process, the breadth of her essays, and her focus on personal and shared experiences, all aimed at trying to 'make sense of the madness' in the world. It culminates in Sasha's poem, “S.O.T.D.”Do you have a loved one you’d like memorialized in a poem? Or a precious memory you’d like preserved for the ages? Dorianne Laux and the other professional poets in the Bureau are standing by to work with you. Sessions can be private or taped for potential use on TAPIT. Visit our website to enquire. Or call our listener line at 808-300-0449.Support the showJoin the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.Follow us on Facebook.

Send us Fan MailInspired by a poem of Todd’s in Poetry Magazine, “The Hush of the Very Good” in 2007, Connie became Todd’s very first private commission. The project ended with an unforgettable encounter in the snow-filled forests of northern Wisconsin. In this special holiday episode of TAPIT, Todd reaches back out to Connie after all these years, to revisit the magic they made together. Chapters in this episode:How Todd came to take commissionsA blossoming friendshipModeling a relationship & making a familyRosamond's resilienceA poet's breakthroughThe poem: A DeerSupport the showJoin the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.Follow us on Facebook.

Send us Fan MailHost Todd Boss converses with Holly about the tragic loss of her son Killian. Her changing relationship and communion with God and His will for her life inspire a graceful, grateful hymn.Chapters in this episode:Holly catalogs her lossesA bit of backgroundKillian's silenceFinding peace in a new placeA shifting sense of identity and GodTelling the truth about griefThe poem: HymnSupport the showJoin the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.Follow us on Facebook.

Send us Fan MailHost Todd Boss enlists the help of Indigenous poet Sasha LaPointe to  motivate Bonnie on her journey of healing and exploration, through the inspiring Skagit Valley landscape.  Chapters in this episode:One more great featPain, glory, and a conservative churchTwo worlds: Transformation is realSkagit Valley and its heritageHowever: Two worldsBonnie meets SashaSasha LaPointe reads "Cycles"A circle of fir trees in prayerSupport the showJoin the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.Follow us on Facebook.

Send us Fan MailThe image of an adult on a tricycle — precarious and uncertain — became the driving force behind the poem Ken needed for his wife Sue's memorial service. Chapters in this episode:Introduction at the cabinA couple of loons on tricyclesKen and Sue take on the world togetherSwiss miss, cuckoo clocks, and finding a home in one anotherSue’s diagnosis, surgery, complications, and passingLost time and post-life lettersThe poem: “It Was a Lark”Support the showJoin the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.Follow us on Facebook.

Send us Fan MailJon's wife Christy got pancreatic cancer ten years ago, but Jon still carries the fear of losing her. It's a long hallway from diagnostics to recovery, but Jon's found the right doctor: Todd helps him stop over-intellectualizing, cutting through the voices in his head, until only sweet remission (from the Latin "to relax,") colors the horizon. Revealed to Jon on the eve of Thanksgiving, 2022, Todd's tongue-in-cheek poem is written in the talky après-dinner-party style of Tony Hoagland, and features candid, ad-libbed cameos by Thomas Merton, Flannery O'Connor, Cormac McCarthy, Czesław Miłosz, and Raymond Carver, who, like all of us, just wants to be loved. From sorrow to joy and back again, this story lets Christy have the final word, and has Jon breathing a sigh of relief. Todd's poem for Jon, "Thanksgiving," quotes a stanza of Tony Hoagland's "Among the Intellectuals," from his posthumous collection, Turn Up The Ocean (Graywolf Press). Used with permission.Chapters in this episode:I contain multitudesCancer for ChristmasTrying to figure things outDeconstructing prayerRecovery: "She really is okay."Humility is an honest self-assessmentThe poem: "Thanksgiving."Support the showJoin the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.Follow us on Facebook.

Send us Fan MailTodd helps Joan, a vocalist, make connections between the loss of her singing voice, three miscarriages, and her survival of a historic Amtrak train wreck. Along the way, we meet her daughters, learn how Indian ashrams and silent meditation retreats have been as important to Joan as her music, and discover the redeeming power of laughter. Todd's (three!) poems for Joan support her in her grief, affirm her choice to evolve her career as a composer, and present her with a surprising award. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you might even break out in song.Chapters in this episode: Amtrak, Conrail, and Joan's fifth-car "wall"Three boys lost in the second trimesterA dream choir and an expiration dateDaughters, mothers, and a lineage of strong womenVoice, meditation, and silenceThe poem: "A Trophy"Audio clip: 1987 Amtrak 20/20 NewsreelGuest Joan Johnson Drewes websiteSupport the showJoin the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.Follow us on Facebook.

Send us Fan MailNew in March 2023! There's a Poem in That is a podcast in which award-winning poet Todd Boss helps strangers discover the poetry in their most intimate stories.  Each episode ends with the reveal of a custom poem written expressly for a guest stranger. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll  want a poem of your very own.Support the showJoin the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.Follow us on Facebook.