‘Let me burrow through the earth and come back with a diamond’

- from a prayer to the teachings by AJ D’Costa

In this episode of 3CR's Spoken Word show which aired on Thursday 19th December 2024, you will hear poet AJ D’Costa talk about separateness, belonging, the sacred ordinary and the diaspora.

AJ D'Costa is a poet, artist & mental health practitioner of Goan-Indian heritage. She works at the intersection of creativity and contemplative practice, performing spoken word, leading community poetry bushwalks and running a private counselling practice. AJ has been part of the Brown Women Poetry showcase in Melbourne, Sonic Poetry Festival and Red Room Poetry’s Poetry Month 2024 calendar. Her work has been published by the Australian Poetry Journal, Tree Paper Gallery, We Are Explorers & New Internationalist, and she talks about creative process on the Spotify podcast Beneath The Words. She currently works from the unceeded lands of the Kulin nation. Find her @ajdcosta.creative.

Poems written and performed by AJ D'Costa in this episode:

subterranean rivers

these are the storms that we know

a prayer to the teachings

erasure

Note

Spoken word and poetry come from the heart and touch on all the topics peculiar to the human condition. As such there may be content in this show that could cause distress. Please practice self-care when listening and seek help if you need it.

Credits

Recorded and produced by Indrani Perera.

Thank you to AJ D’Costa for sharing her poetry and to you for listening!