shovel in hand
pushing away all that old
beautiful snow
Archive for December, 2015
One New Path for the New Year
Posted in Uncategorized on December 31, 2015| 1 Comment »
At the Airport
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged airport, goodbye, poem on December 30, 2015| 2 Comments »
the little boy
with a backpack
bigger than he is
stands in line
behind the red rope
his tears follow me
through the exit door
to the car parked
in the no parking zone,
on my own cheeks
I taste them
Showing Up
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged poem, prayer, showing up on December 29, 2015| 1 Comment »
Before I pray
I do not wash
my hands—
not out of disrespect
but because
I do not
want to pretend
to be any cleaner
than I really am,
this filth,
this patina of depravity,
this is part
of why
I have come
to pray—
if I waited
to wash the stains
from my skin,
my lips, my sleeves,
I might
never pray
at all.
One Request
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged poem on December 27, 2015| 2 Comments »
perhaps it is true
we are nothing—
then let me be nothing
that knows how to blush, how to sing
how to weep and laugh at its nothingness
Finding Beauty at the Edge of Darkness …
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged ekphrasis, Meghan Tutolo, poem, Rattle on December 26, 2015| 2 Comments »
… that’s what I was thinking about when I saw a painting by Meghan Tutolo as part of Rattle’s Ekphrastic Challenge … today it was featured on the Rattle site, the poem Divining. Wishing all of you beauty in these hours at the edge of our darkest days …
Singing Little Drummer Boy
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged poem on December 26, 2015| 3 Comments »
Why the tears
come on so fast
we seldom can
exactly say—
nor can we say
just why we try
so hard to hold
them in.
Sometimes when
you pour a glass
of water too full
it can hold more than its volume.
It’s no miracle,
it’s surface tension.
It only works
until it doesn’t.
Sometimes we hold more
than we are made to hold—
and oh that sweet
and terrible wrestling
as we feel our hearts
grow a little bit larger
in an instinctive attempt
to accommodate
the increasing tension,
the wild expanding joy.
The Gift
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Christmas, poem on December 24, 2015| 7 Comments »
Everything we hope for
inside a box,
inside a stocking,
inside each other,
yes everything we hope for
is nowhere until
we find it
inside us,
and then it is everywhere
and all we want
is to give it
freely.
On Walking Out After Watching Star Wars 7
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged familiar, poem, star wars on December 24, 2015| 1 Comment »
I am surprised to find
I have children, a husband, a coat—
for hours I feel the tug,
this urge to do something heroic,
this strange delight in the familiar
The Room Scented with Allspice, Cloves, Cinnamon
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged gingerbread, memories, poem on December 22, 2015| 1 Comment »
Rolling out the dough
for the gingerbread house
I find myself wishing
that I were enjoying myself
the way I always imagine
I will enjoy it when I
roll out the dough
for the gingerbread house
with my children,
but every year it is always
better in my thoughts
than in the real kitchen
where my son and daughter
bicker over who gets
to roll next and who
gets to cut next and who
cuts the straighter line,
and I have to remind
myself it is fun, right?
and that this is the stuff
that good memories
are made of. Ten years
from now, what a great
time we will be having
this day.
Merry Christmas
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged poem on December 22, 2015| Leave a Comment »
For Christmas, something I wish we would all find as a gift … a bit of forgiveness. Thanks to Telluride Inside and Out for posting this poem of mine from last year … I wish it no less fervently this year. Christmas Morning
In the manger of my heart
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged grace, manger, poem on December 21, 2015| 2 Comments »
there in the muddle
where I do my best
to keep it swept
but it gets messed up
every day anyway,
there amidst
the drafts
and the animal chorus
something new
and beautiful
is being born—
not because
I prayed for it,
not because
I am worthy,
only because
that is how
miracles work—
sometimes
by grace
we peek through
the cracks in the walls
and see just
how light
even the messiest
places
can be.
Lesson from the Contrails
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged contrail, poem on December 21, 2015| 2 Comments »
One Chapter
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged poem, poetry on December 20, 2015| 1 Comment »
Strange Prayer
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged lost, poem, prayer on December 20, 2015| 1 Comment »
When we know
we are lost
it seems
so obvious
to stop,
pay closer attention,
ask for help.
May we always
see
how
we
are
lost.
Translation
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged communication, love, poem, poetry on December 18, 2015| 4 Comments »
What I meant to say:
You are my moon, my stars, my sunrise.
What I said:
Do you want pasta or rice?
What I meant to say:
Kiss me, kiss me, please, please.
What I said:
I’ll take out the trash.
What I meant to say:
I would swim icy rivers to be near you.
What I said:
I love you. Sweet dreams.
One Strange Truth
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged overwhelm, poem on December 16, 2015| 2 Comments »
As the Axe Falls
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged poem on December 14, 2015| 3 Comments »
It would perhaps be pleasant to be alternately victim and executioner.
—Baudelaire
Alternately, let me be the flame
and the fuel consumed,
the water and the thirsty soil,
the kiss and the longing for the kiss.
Alternately, let me be the gift and
the one who receives, alternately
transparent and rich with secrets,
alternately rooted and wandering.
But when it comes to loving,
let it be impossible to tell
the lover from the beloved,
the one holding from the one
who’s being held, the one who
wishes from the wish itself.
Three Surrenders
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged poem on December 13, 2015| 1 Comment »
a dance
goes in search of a dancer—
enough of cleverness
*
tussling with God
we both know who wins—
still the joy of tussling
*
butt naked
so much the better—
every floor a dance floor
Gifts of Poetry?
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Christmas present, individual poetry session, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer on December 12, 2015| 3 Comments »
Looking for a gift for someone special? Consider a gift that honors and develops their creativity. I offer hour-long poetry conversations, in person or on the phone. For more information, visit my website, where you can read testimonials and make a purchase using Pay Pal.
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Merry Everything, dear readers, thanks for sharing this poetry practice with me every day,
Rosemerry
Love, Like That Rabbit Hole
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged poem on December 12, 2015| 3 Comments »
Though I have trained my eye
to know where I might find it,
there is no guarantee. And not
every rabbit hole leads to wonder.
Some are just large enough
to trip in, but some pull us
into that fabulous alternate place
where everything shines
as long as we don’t get in the way.
Oh love, aren’t I always getting
in the way, me with my schedule,
my lists, my composure. I say
I am ready to fall, I say find me,
love, and then I build walls around
every moment to keep myself
from falling. Sometimes love
digs that rabbit hole right
beneath where I am standing
and by the time I discover I am in
it’s too late find the way back out.
May I always forget my breadcrumbs.
May I always say thank you,
even as I tremble, even as I slip.