The Daily Poem
Goldberry Studios
The Daily Poem offers one essential poem each weekday morning. From Shakespeare and John Donne to Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson, The Daily Poem curates a broad and generous audio anthology of the best poetry ever written, read-aloud by David Kern and an assortment of various contributors. Some lite commentary is included and the shorter poems are often read twice, as time permits.
The Daily Poem is presented by Goldberry Studios. dailypoempod.substack.com
The Daily Poem is presented by Goldberry Studios. dailypoempod.substack.com
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 10, 2026 • 3min
Jonathan Henderson Brooks' "The Resurrection"
Now Calvary was loveliness:/Lilies that flowered thereuponPulled off the white moon’s pallid dress,/And put the morning’s vesture on. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
Apr 8, 2026 • 5min
"Pangur Ban"
Today’s poem, translated by Robin Flowers, was originally written in Old Irish inside an 8th-century scribe’s copy of St. Paul’s epistles. However, it reveals its anonymous author to be anything but a bored and disinterested grunt. Happy reading.N.B. Here is a wonderful reading of the poem in Old Irish. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
Apr 6, 2026 • 5min
William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 99"
Today’s poem is one of Shakespeare’s “irregular” sonnets–he’s got 99 problems (most of them flowers), but strict obedience to the requirements of the sonnet form ain’t one. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
Apr 3, 2026 • 6min
Nicholas Samaras' "The Second Death of Lazarus"
Today’s poem imagines the long life of Lazarus as he awaits, like Eliot’s magi, “another death.” Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
Apr 1, 2026 • 3min
Sean Johnson's "How many beards gild the lapses of time"
Today’s poem is a hirsute parody of a much better poem. Sorry in advance. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
Mar 30, 2026 • 5min
Elizabeth Drew Barstow Stoddard's "One morn I left him in his bed"
A look at a 19th-century child elegy and its unusual take on mourning. Vivid funeral-at-sea imagery and a sorrowful homecoming. Intimate passages about private grief and the speaker’s stunned silence. Closing lines that tie personal loss to a wider maternal sorrow.
Mar 27, 2026 • 5min
Seamus Heaney's "Poem"
Today’s poem answers the question you never thought to ask: what do a poem, a barnyard, and a marriage have in common? Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
Mar 25, 2026 • 3min
Rainer Maria Rilke's "Annunciation to Mary"
In today’s poem, Rilke (trans. J.B. Leishman) imagines the Annunciation from Gabriel’s perspective. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
Mar 23, 2026 • 5min
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's "Dandelions"
Today’s poem wonders what it means to recognize and appreciate a gift. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
Mar 20, 2026 • 4min
Naomi Shihab Nye's "My Uncle’s Favorite Coffee Shop"
Today’s poem contemplates the ways and “why”s of saying nothing, before culminating in a shattering pun on “nothing.” Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
