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# Podcast
- URL: https://dianaludwick.com/podcast/
- Published: 2026-01-21T16:07:04.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T20:12:37.000Z
- Description: "Podcast," poem 021 in a series of 365 poems by Diana Ludwick, written in 2026. Photo: accessories for a winter walk and podcast for one, (c) DIana Ludwick 2026.
- Author: Diana Ludwick
- Tags: 2026 Poetry Challenge, Poems, friendship, Humor, parenting, recipe, relationships, #Migrated-1792872215677, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-10-24 20:03

My best mate since 4th grade and I live   
3,689 miles and five time zones apart  
and thus we need a recipe for  
festive continuity.  
  
We sacked video calls long ago,  
too hard to navigate across families.  
So we send each other podcasts  
recorded for an audience of one:  
  
Click the voice note app,   
pour out snark — and heart —   
over competing background noises of   
street traffic or children or treadmills.  
  
Add in a dash of salty asides,   
a dose of witty insights and an   
obligatory testimonial to a spouse’s  
latest questionable take on x / y / zed.  
  
Sprinkle in a   
note of concern regarding our  
boisterous, aging parents;  
Add antics of sensational relatives.  
  
Fortify with prompt engineering hacks  
non-fiction book suggestions  
tapas menu planning ideas  
and hints on publishing articles.  
  
Stir in aspirational itineraries  
for upcoming travel and grandeur,  
new entrepreneurial ventures  
and intended next big chapters.  
  
Fold in praise — gas up the other’s  
most recently mentioned goals  
and amplify them 'til doubled in size;  
push them to think even bigger.  
  
Roll in gently those vulnerable truths  
regarding parenting, that ever-on  
role of raising humans; drop in a  
wry word on a kid’s freshest capers.  
  
With eye-rolling quips, massage in  
deliciously dramatic details of the  
chores that temporarily, circumstantially  
preclude near-term fame and fortune.  
  
Before it turns too dark, take off with  
a bittersweet smile and a flourish:  
*Tune into to my next podcast* 
*in which I figure out my life!*   
  
This is how we bake friendship;   
with unscripted and sparklingly  
sardonic normalcy set amidst the  
backdrop of an uncanny world.