What a Lovely Light!

What a Lovely Light!

What does it mean to live brightly, even if it doesn’t last? In this episode, we enter First Fig — a four-line masterpiece by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950), one of America’s most luminous and unruly poetic voices. My candle burns at both ends;It will not last the night;But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—It gives a lovely light! Through Millay’s words, Amy reflects on the autumnal art of burning — how the season turns, glows, and gives itself away before surrendering to winter’s quiet & white. She traces Millay’s extraordinary life: her radical independence, her fame, her defiance of literary and social conventions, and her life that, like October itself, blazed with beauty and brevity. Content Note: This episode includes references to illness, addiction, and mortality Music Credits: @JonnyEaston This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amysingh.substack.com [https://amysingh.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Dohra: Why Cling to the Spinning Wheel?

Born on 4th October 1856, Dhani Ram Chatrik is often called the father of modern Panjabi poetry. In this episode, we step into Chatrik’s Dohra — a deceptively simple folk-style poem that opens into a tender meditation on life, death, and what we truly take with us when we leave: ਦੋਹੜਾ - ਧਨੀ ਰਾਮ ਚਾਤ੍ਰਿਕ (1876 -1954) ਛਡ ਤ੍ਰਿੰਞਣ, ਕਰ ਸੁੰਞਾ ਵਿਹੜਾ ਤੁਰ ਤੁਰ ਜਾਵਣ ਸਈਆਂ, ਇਕ ਗਈਆਂ, ਇਕ ਡੋਲੇ ਚੜ੍ਹੀਆਂ, ਇਕ ਦਾਜ ਸਮੇਟਣ ਪਈਆਂ, ਅਸਾਂ ਭਿ ਜਾਣਾ, ਢੋਲਣ ਆਇਆਂ, ਪਰ ਚਰਖਾ ਕਿਉਂ ਚਾਈਏ ? ਓਨੀਆਂ ਤੰਦਾਂ ਆਪਣੀਆਂ ਨੇ, ਜਿੰਨੀਆਂ ਕੱਤੀਆਂ ਗਈਆਂ । Translation by Enter Poem: Leaving the spinning circle, my friends all exit the courtyard. One has already gone, one climbs into the bridal palanquin, one gathers her dowry. I too must go, as my betrothed arrives. So why cling to the spinning wheel? Only as many threads are mine, as many I have already spun. Amy Singh reads the poem in Panjabi and English, exploring its cultural and spiritual resonances, and shares how it connects to her own memories of home, loss, and love. Content note/Trigger Warning: This episode discusses themes of death and mortality. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amysingh.substack.com [https://amysingh.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

In the end, isn’t that love?

In this episode we dive into a poem that turns a poolside scene into a profound meditation on love. Hero by Saraswati Nagpal Pina coladas are served but you continue to perambulate in the pool, past goggle-eyed kids diving for pennies, young lovers smooching, and the fuchsia-clad selfie poser I’m rolling my eyes at. Onward you go, saviour of ditzy bees, drowning dragonflies, delusional spiders, your tender, cupped hands scooping them from despair to dry tile. In the end, isn’t that love? To carry the fragile heart with gentleness from shore to shore, from cold delusions to the solid warmth of peace. Saraswati Nagpal is a Forward Prize-nominated Indian poet, writer of myth & fantasy, and classical dancer. She is Co-Editor at The Winged Moon literary substack, and is published in The Atlantic, Atlanta Review, Acropolis, Dust, SAND, and others, besides international anthologies. She has been nominated for three Best of the Net and a Pushcart Prize for her poems. Her debut poetry collection is Drench Me in Silver (Black Bough, 2025). You can get a copy here:: 1. Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/Drench-Me-Silver-India-Asia/dp/9334325763 [https://www.amazon.in/Drench-Me-Silver-India-Asia/dp/9334325763] 2. Internationally across Amazon: https://shorturl.at/82QxI [https://shorturl.at/82QxI] Saraswati is also a co-editor of Winged Moon Literary Magazine, which you can follow here: https://thewingedmoon.substack.com/ [https://www.amazon.in/Drench-Me-Silver-India-Asia/dp/9334325763] Enter Poem is a slow, soft space to feel poetry. To fall in love with poems. Hosted by poet and writer Amy Singh, this podcast opens the door to poems that arrive just when we need them. In each episode, we enter the heart of a poem, and let it enter ours.  Whether it’s a poem Amy has chosen or one loved by a guest, Enter Poem invites you to feel deeply, wonder freely, and linger in language. Music Credits: @JonnyEaston This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amysingh.substack.com [https://amysingh.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Rosh Hashanah: What remains after a disaster?

In this episode, we turn to Lucille Clifton, the beloved American poet known for her compact, searing truths. We read her poem “rosh hashanah” from The September Suite, written in the week following 9/11, and reflect on what remains after the disaster: I bear witness to no thing More human than hate I bear witness to no thing More human than love Apples and honey Apples and honey What is not lost Is paradise If you’d like to donate to the 2025 Punjab flood relief, you can refer to these NGOs working on the ground: https://www.theglobalsikhs.org/ [https://www.theglobalsikhs.org/] https://hemkuntfoundation.com/ [https://www.theglobalsikhs.org/] https://khalsaaid.org/ [https://www.theglobalsikhs.org/] Enter Poem is a slow, soft space to feel poetry. To fall in love with poems. Hosted by poet and writer Amy Singh, this podcast opens the door to poems that arrive just when we need them. In each episode, we enter the heart of a poem, and let it enter ours.  Whether it’s a poem Amy has chosen or one loved by a guest, Enter Poem invites you to feel deeply, wonder freely, and linger in language. Music Credits: @JonnyEaston This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amysingh.substack.com [https://amysingh.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Buriyan Buriyan Buriyan Ve Loka by Shah Hussain with Radhika Sood and Amy Singh

In this episode, we turn to Shah Hussain — the 16th-century sufi poet remembered for his fearless, timeless voice. We focus on one of his most searing kafis, “Buriyān, buriyān, buriyān ve lokā” talking about wounds sharper than swords, and the spiritual yearning that comes with the path of love. I’m joined by Radhika Sood Nayak, A singer and composer whose love for Sufi music was first kindled by the 17th-century mystic Baba Bulleh Shah’s poetry. Beginning with the Mumbai Kabir Festival, she has travelled with her songs to Kabir Yatras in Rajasthan, Malwa, and Telangana. Shah Hussain’s poetry has deeply inspired her — leading her to compose, collaborate on music videos with theatre artists in Lahore and handloom artists in Kutch, and most recently, to curate Mela Chiraagaa’n – Madho Lal Hussain, a musical narrative dedicated to the poet. For those who want to journey further: * Listen to Samina Hasan Syed’s SoundCloud channel [https://m.soundcloud.com/saminahasansyed], with her soulful renditions of Sufi poetry. * Read Naveed Alam’s Verses of a Lowly Faqir — an English translation of Madho Lal Hussain’s kafis, available on Amazon [https://www.amazon.in/Verses-Lowly-Fakir-Madho-Hussein/dp/0670088277]. * And dive into Sarbpreet Singh’s novel The Sufi’s Nightingale, which reimagines Shah Hussain’s life and his extraordinary bond with Madho Lal. Read more here [https://speakingtigerbooks.com/product/the-sufis-nightingale/?srsltid=AfmBOoqrJ4E8r3aCndIz7eBjPSG-N-gjihlSN8d-L_jQKNlk9T_bJ3Tg]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amysingh.substack.com [https://amysingh.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]