WEBVTT - Read a poem 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to build a reading habit by tackling

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<v Speaker 1>a poem a day. Poems tend to be short, but

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<v Speaker 1>can take you to amazing places, and so can help

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<v Speaker 1>you find space and life for a little bit of beauty.

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<v Speaker 1>As I've talked to people about their schedules over the years,

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<v Speaker 1>I've learned that many people want to find more time

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<v Speaker 1>to read along with volunteering and exercising. Reading is something

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<v Speaker 1>that we know would improve our lives, but when life

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<v Speaker 1>gets busy, it's easy to let it go, and once

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<v Speaker 1>you let it go, getting back in the habit can

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<v Speaker 1>seem intimidating. Most books demand at least a few hours

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<v Speaker 1>of time, and reading in little bits might not be

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<v Speaker 1>very satisfying. Hence the beauty of poems. Unless you're reading T. S.

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<v Speaker 1>Eliott's The Waste Land, most poems are relatively short. You

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<v Speaker 1>can easily borrow e books of poetry from your library

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<v Speaker 1>through an app like Libby, and then read through them

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<v Speaker 1>on the Kindle app, or you can go to a

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<v Speaker 1>website such as poets dot org or Poetry Foundation dot

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<v Speaker 1>org and find poems selected by their editors. In any case,

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<v Speaker 1>you can get free poems on your phone quickly, and

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<v Speaker 1>I am guessing that you always have your phone nearby

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<v Speaker 1>and for the cause of building a poetry reading habit,

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<v Speaker 1>this is actually a good thing. Notice when you pick

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<v Speaker 1>up your phone, what do you do? Many people check

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<v Speaker 1>texts or emails first and then look at social media apps.

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<v Speaker 1>As you find yourself doing this, consciously click to the

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<v Speaker 1>poetry website or your e reader instead. In about three minutes,

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<v Speaker 1>you can read a poem, a whole poem, which will

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<v Speaker 1>give you at least some feeling of accomplishment whatever else

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<v Speaker 1>you did or didn't do during the day. You are

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<v Speaker 1>the sort of person who reads poetry. Now, of course,

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<v Speaker 1>some poems are better than others. I've read through volumes

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<v Speaker 1>from some of my favorite poets like Mary Oliver or

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<v Speaker 1>Billy Collins, or classic poets such as Emily Dickinson, and

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes stuff is awesome, and sometimes even with the vasters,

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<v Speaker 1>it doesn't always speak to us. But poems do have

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<v Speaker 1>a way of going places that pros can't always follow.

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<v Speaker 1>Done well, a poem can conjure up an image and

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<v Speaker 1>a feeling. You can ponder that image and feeling as

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<v Speaker 1>you go about your day. That image and feeling can

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<v Speaker 1>take you outside your life for a few minutes and

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<v Speaker 1>elevate your experience, putting a little beauty into the moment.

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<v Speaker 1>Not bad for three minutes, right, And as you find

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<v Speaker 1>yourself finding three minutes here and there, you'll start to

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<v Speaker 1>see that you do, in fact have time to read.

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<v Speaker 1>You just have to choose to do so. And so

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<v Speaker 1>poetry can become a gateway to literature of all kinds.

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<v Speaker 1>So today, find some poetry, put it where you can

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<v Speaker 1>read it, and if nothing else, you'll end the day

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<v Speaker 1>feeling like you've put something a little special into your life.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's b E the number four then breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>Podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>i heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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