Be us guardians and caretakers.

‘This was the road which Xerxes took, and it was hereabouts that he came across 

a plane-tree of

such beauty that he was moved

to decorate it

with golden ornaments and

to appoint a guardian for it

in perpetuity.’

~Herodotus, The Histories

440 BC

We know poetry to be a critical pillar of public life. It rises up when official language fails us. And it gives voice to what is human and what is true, how we connect and what questions we hold.

Poetry has moved to the heart of what we offer on the radio and in podcasts, which is why we’re excited to have partnered with talented illustrators, animators, and directors to reimagine poetry in visual, dynamic ways.

“This is what was bequeathed us” by Gregory Orr is part of our “Visualizing Poetry” series, which features animated interpretations of beloved poems from our archive.

This poem was originally read in the On Being episode with Gregorry Orr, “Shaping Grief With Language.”

-The Onbeing Project

onbeing.org