reading the afterward first—
still choosing to start with you
on page one
Archive for October, 2015
In the Book of Two
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged book, love, poem, poetry on October 11, 2015| 2 Comments »
The Last Lunch Menu
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged heidi's brooklyn deli, lunch, poem, poetry, titanic, value on October 11, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Last week, the last lunch menu of the Titanic sold for a whole heap of money at auction, inspiring this poem published today on New Verse News. You never know what might have some value …
In the Maze Again
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged poem, poetry, shame, teacher on October 11, 2015| 2 Comments »
It’s not shame itself we want to lose
but the shame about our shame.
Shame itself is as innocent
as bliss or love or joy, only
we seldom want it to linger.
A woman walks through rows of corn
and knows her own shadow.
She does not lament its shape,
but uses it to guide her.
There is teacher in everything,
even the corn dried on the stalk. Even
the wanting to push shame away.
Even the arm that rises up
to embrace our own shadow,
impossible as it is.
Four Surprises
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged growth, poem, poetry, shedding, surprise, transformation on October 9, 2015| 2 Comments »
carrying that sled
uphill for so long, I forgot
it was for riding
*
shedding the roof
when the house no longer fits—
now nothing between us and the stars
*
but I miss the weight
say the hands, too free after
setting down the stone chest
*
running full speed
into my own fear, I ricochet
into the arms of god
One Fragrance
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged beauty, inevitability, poem, poetry on October 9, 2015| 3 Comments »
around us, so much dying
still, it’s inevitable, falling in love
with one yellow rose
Ever feel as if you’re pushing and pushing
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged A Year of Being Here, allowing, poem, poetry, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer on October 8, 2015| 4 Comments »
and exhausted from pushing and not getting anywhere?
Today, a fabulous poetry site, “A Year of Being Here,” published a poem of mine about just this experience.
I love this site, love reading the poems daily and going back through the archives. You can find it here: A Year of Being Here: Trommer
Two Foolishnesses
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged limitations, poem, poetry on October 8, 2015| 3 Comments »
two hands holding
a vase, even the loveliest vase,
can’t open a door
*
trying to contain
the sea in a cup—
it’s not been done before, but …
The Love Song You Don’t Hear
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged love, poem, poetry, silence, song on October 7, 2015| 3 Comments »
How it Might Happen
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged black swift, forgiveness, poem, poetry on October 6, 2015| 4 Comments »
The baby black swift is born behind a waterfall.
It never leaves its nest until one autumn day
it leaves the damp familiar and starts to fly.
Though it has never flown before, it will not land
until it reaches Brazil, thousands of miles away.
There is, perhaps, a wing inside forgiveness.
Just because it has never flown before,
just because it’s never seen beyond the watery veil
does not mean that it won’t instantly learn
what it can do.
Like the baby black swift, it has no idea
what it’s flying toward. It only knows
that it must fly and not stop until it is time to stop.
It sounds so miraculous, so nearly impossible.
It is not a matter of courage. It is simply
what rises up to be done, the urge to follow
some inaudible call that says now, now.
Just Playing With Words, October 18, 2015, Weehawken Arts, Ridgway, CO
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged poem, poetry class, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer on October 6, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Doesn’t matter if you’ve written one or ten-thousand poems–I hope you can join me in a class devoted to the pure pleasure of writing, reading and sharing poetry.
The class, Just Playing With Words, will be held in Ridgway, CO, on October 18 from 10-4.
To register, go to the link above or call 970-318-0150 for more information.
Three Humblings
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged corn maze, eclipse, guilt, humbling, poem, poetry on October 4, 2015| 1 Comment »
lost in the corn maze
for hours, always knowing
exactly where I am not
*
acutely aware
of a much larger dance—
blood moon
*
the young magician
made the coins disappear—
longing to hand him my guilt
Last Lunch
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged auction, death, poem, poetry, titanic on October 4, 2015| 4 Comments »
For the last lunch on the Titanic,
the kitchen served corned beef and dumplings.
We know because one of the men
who was saved in a lifeboat
kept his menu with him,
and over a hundred years later
someone bought the old scrap of paper
for eighty-eight thousand bucks.
My friends, just in case I die tonight,
and just in case it’s a dramatic,
exciting death, I want you to know
that for lunch I had Lay’s potato chips
and a Caribbean Spice smoothie
with protein powder. I didn’t
save the menu, I know, what a bummer.
But it’s written in chalk on the wall
at Heidi’s Brooklyn Deli, and if you take
a picture, well, somewhere down the centuries
it might just make a fortune for your kids.
Unlike that lucky survivor, I don’t happen to have
a Turkish bath ticket I can send you.
Too bad. I would have loved one today.
But perhaps at auction
you can make a few extra bucks
if you throw in the knowledge
that the sunflowers were in full bloom,
and the cottonwood trees were golden,
though it was already October 3.
The whole sale would be more profitable
if only I were more famous. Sorry.
Oh yes. Two pickles. I nearly forgot to mention.
They throw them in free with the kids’ sandwiches,
but those pickles might be worth a lot to you.
I hope not many others will die in this disaster,
but know that I am aware as I write this
that there is a sweet danger brewing,
and there are no life boats.
Sounds Crazy But It Happens
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged poem, poetry, thirst on October 2, 2015| 1 Comment »
How to Find Some Poetry in Your Life?
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged find the poetry in your life, inspiration, Mesa County Public Library, poetry, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer on October 2, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Join me in Grand Junction at the library this coming Monday, at 6 p.m. for a conversation/reading/presentation as part of their ongoing “Inspiring Presentations” series. Free!
Not a gaggle of geese nor a flock of hens, it’s a Heard of Poets
Posted in Uncategorized on October 2, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Hey poetry friends, I want to share a new site with you … Heard of Poets: Poems from Colorado’s Western Slope is an interactive poetry map that I’ve created with San Juan Independent. There are eleven poets on it to start, and every Wednesday, I will add another, so keep checking back. Wallace Stegnar said “A place is not a place until it has a poet.” Well, as everyone knows, the Western Slope is a very special place, and it sure does have a proliferation of incredible poets. What a great way to re-learn your geography–with a poem written in this big backyard …
A Lesson in Shading
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Art, darkness, light, poem, poetry, shadow on October 1, 2015| 1 Comment »
So first, you imagine the light bulb,
he says, then he draws one on the page
so I won’t have to imagine too hard.
And then, he says, you draw a dark line
under the object, assuming that there
will not be much light underneath it.
He moves his pencil forcefully
to darken the bottom of the square.
Next, he says, you move your hand
as far from the light as possible
and make it darker there.
I watch as he fills in the spaces
where white has been.
There is something vital
in all of us that leans toward the dark.
I notice the depth that the shadows
have brought to the page, so like the shadow
into which we are pulled and pulled.
Even now, the darkest parts of us
are kindling our greatest light.