1471: It Was Like This: You Were Happy by Jane Hirshfield

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily · Mar 6, 2026 · 6m

Today’s poem is It Was Like This: You Were Happy by Jane Hirshfield.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “If someone asked you, at the end of your life, “What was your life like?” I wonder what you might say. How would you characterize your lived experience — the whole of it, cradle to grave? You couldn’t tell every story, or detail every friendship or romantic relationship. You couldn’t list all of your jobs or accomplishments in some sort of highlight reel. You couldn’t describe every place you visited and what you experienced there. So how would you…