Still, something by Aditya Gupta | One Poem Only

A daily reading from One Poem Only—a quiet space for a single poem, read aloud. Still, something Aditya Gupta I stopped praying long ago. The gods grew tired of my voice, or maybe I just grew tired of asking for things that never came. My wallet’s thin, my dreams thinner a handful of words no one cared to read. Even my parents’ eyeslook at me like unfinished work,a draft they wish they could rewrite.And love,she always leavesbefore the song begins.I’ve learned the sound of silencethat follows a “maybe next time.”But sometimes,in the middle of all that noise,a small thought humsthat maybe I’m still herefor a reason I don’t yet know.Maybe the words I failed to write are still forming inside me.Maybe faithis not about believing in God,but believingthat the broken can still be beautiful.And maybe one day,someone will see menot as a failure,but as a boy who kept tryingto love the worldeven when it forgot his name.More from Aditya Gupta ↓@serenadeinsilhouettes on InstagramSupport + Stay Connected to OPOIf you’d like to support the show, Substack and Patreon members receive a copy of my book, For My Daughter, along with episodes from the audiobook.Poetry slows us down. Thank you for listening.Mentioned in this episode:Write After with One Poem OnlyWrite After is a way to encourage poets to listen and write, and use National Poetry Month to highlight how listening to poetry makes us better poets. I know I write the best when I’m surrounded by beautiful poetry–it’s part of the reason I created this podcast, and I want to encourage others to share this practice. If you want to join: Listen to a poem from the month of April on One Poem Only, then write your own in response. I will pick one for each day to read in June for a special series: One Poem After 🍎🍏 Submissions close May 15.Write After Submissions Form