in the bowl
a single morel—
bouquet of laughter
Archive for May, 2017
One Morning Excursion
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged mushroom hunting, poem, poetry on May 21, 2017| Leave a Comment »
In The Box: Literary Burlesque 2017
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged in the box, literary burlesque, meditation, poem, poetry on May 21, 2017| 5 Comments »
Hi friends … today’s poem is really a performance art piece I did last night at the fourth annual Literary Burlesque in Telluride. I thought I’d try to capture how the performance went, so here are the lighting and image cues, the music accompaniment cues, and costuming and set directions.
Inspired by In the Box, Horizontal by Ruth Bernhard, German born, American, black and white photograph.
Rosemerry, writer/performer
Kyra, cellist
LIGHTS: STILL DARK. KYRA ENTERS WITH CELLO, PLAYS LIVE IN DARK DURING SET-UP.
Stage hands set a folding table on stage with a black covering, and on top of that a long cardboard box. Also place on the table a cell phone and pen.
IMAGE: KYRA PAUSES, THEN STARTS BASELINE OF “GLORY BOX,” BY PORTISHEAD.
IMAGE OF WOMAN IN THE BOX COMES UP WHEN BASELINE BEGINS.
ROSEMERRY ENTERS IN DARK, WEARING “SEXY TEACHER” COSTUME—SHORT PLAID SKIRT, WHITE BUTTON SHIRT, HAIR UP, READING GLASSES, SUPER HIGH HEELS CARRYING A LONG WHITE RULER, SINGING INTRO MELODY OF “GLORY BOX” BY PORTISHEAD
IMAGE STILL UP. Kyra still playing.
KYRA PLAYS BASE LINE 4 TIMES,
IMAGE OUT.
LIGHTS UP.
(Kyra continue plucking bass on the cello)
Rm speaking: Good evening class,
tonight we’re going to talk about
a woman’s box.
Pop Quiz:
Is it a: how she fights with her fists against tyranny
Is it b: a place to be grabbed by men with orange hair
is it c: where she keeps her jewelry
No. Imma tell you what it is … And-a 1, 2, 3
(Music A, same bassline, bowed instead of plucked, pick up tempo, rm sing)
There’s a place a woman goes
when she’s needs to be alone—
it’s her box.
(SPOKEN: Play it Kyra)
There’s a place she disappears
when she needs to see things clear—
it’s her box.
(SPOKEN: I love my box)
Not a cage, there is no key,
it’s her private sanctuary
it’s a place you’ll never see—
it’s her box. (rm take off shoes here)
(rm start body slap rhythm while kyra plays, kyra join on body rhythm, rm speak)
Okay class, let’s break it down
IMAGE: IMAGE OF US MAP GOES UP
Now there’s lots of work to do out there
the earth’s in desperate need of care
(RM point with ruler to places on the map)
the EPA is decimated,
pipeline construction’s escalated
global warmings’ being negated
offshore drilling’s being slated
with all these threats, and all that’s wrong
IMAGE: IMAGES OFF
a woman must be warrior, strong—
she needs her mask (pull out reading glasses), she needs her sword (pick up pen and brandish it)
she needs her trusty, high-speed horse (pull out cell phone and pretend to speed dial … while kyra makes rhythmic sound of horse galloping)
(no music)
hello, senator Cory Gardner? this is Rosemerry Trommer calling, I’m your constituent from Placerville, zip code 81430, and today I want to talk about how you’re going to vote on …
(back to music A, but slower, quieter, smoother, kyra slide, rm sing)
When lies are swirling all around
she needs the place where truth is found
her inner knowing, her sacred ground
it’s in her box.
it’s an infinity she keeps inside her
where the world is limitless, quieter,
our expansiveness comes from within
a home where she removes her armor (start here to take off glasses)
where she lets the mystery touch her
(kyra soft pluck slide the bass, rm begin to unbutton shirt, eyes gaze down, inward)
yes in her private chrysalis
is where a woman’s power begins (drop shirt)
a place where she is open, tender, soft,
the silence there informs her (drop skirt, wearing a nude bodysuit underneath)
vulnerability transforms her—
and the world—in ways ferocity cannot. (kick skirt into audience)
kyra bow the intro hum (rm climb inside the box here) then kyra pluck the intro hum
you are your own fertile seed
you are your own desert rain
you are your own silk cocoon
you are your own shaman’s cave
it’s from the inside
we learn to be brave
(kyra decrescendo, rm reach left hand out … red hand showing)
lights out.
Dear Jack
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Jack Mueller, poem, poetry on May 21, 2017| Leave a Comment »
it was a little too quiet last night
at the poetry reading, though we heckled
as if we were you,
but our interruptions were mere imitation,
they missed the gravel of your voice
and the bedrock of your conviction
and the growl of your disdain,
your love like a weed I learned to want.
Lenity
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged kindness, poem, poetry on May 18, 2017| Leave a Comment »
First it was the woman
who waved at me
through the spring snow.
I didn’t take it personally,
her kindness, more like
an accident that I happened
to be there. Then it was
the woman who forgave me
for being confused
about when I was supposed
to arrive. Then the woman
who hugged me for no reason
at all. And the man who
looked up and smiled.
And the friend who
played me a tune.
Kindnesses inside every hour.
All day. It was like stumbling
on a word I’ve never heard before,
and suddenly—how could I
have missed it all this time—
it’s everywhere.
What the Path Thinks
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged path, poem, poetry, uncertainty on May 17, 2017| Leave a Comment »
Tonight the path
is tired of being
a path, would rather
be a leaf. Enough
of trodding. Enough
of this one foot
in front of the other.
Rather to unfurl
and serve and let go
and get lost. Really,
how hard could it be?
Something about
“path” suggests
certainty. The path
feels like a fraud.
It’s exhausted
with arrivals. It wants
to fall off. It wants
to cartwheel across the field
like last year’s leaves
in spring wind.
It wants to have
no idea at all
where it is going.
One Transmutation
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged poem, poetry, words on May 16, 2017| Leave a Comment »
sending you these words
to wear like a scarf, only softer
than that, more like song
Planting the Cloud Acre Reds
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged garden, healing, love, poem, poetry, potatoes on May 15, 2017| Leave a Comment »
with thanks to Artful for the fabulous starts
Last year’s potatoes—
small red fists
with stubby white shoots—
they have something
to teach the heart about
unclenching,
about how to find something of value
in their own darkness
something that knows how to reach
toward the light,
something that when faced
with darkness again
will reach even farther
until they become
astonishingly prolific, alive.
Alone in the Garden
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged awakening, gardening, poem, poetry, silence on May 14, 2017| 2 Comments »
Digging there in the dirt
with small seeds
in your hands
you hear the wind
high in the cottonwoods,
you hear the silence
sown inside the wind,
and the quieter
you are, you hear
perhaps, within you
a call like the geese
that aren’t flying
overhead, a startling
call, an almost
strangled sound
that, if you heard it,
might almost
wake you up.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged mother, mother's day, poems, poetry on May 14, 2017| Leave a Comment »
To all of you who are mothers and all of you who have mothers, here are three poems to celebrate the most rewarding, incredible, challenging and primary relationship of our lives. I am super lucky to have an amazing mom, and Mom, I am continually in awe of you. The older my kids get, the more I wonder how you managed to parent with so much grace and joy and confidence.
These poems were previously published in Telluride Inside and Out a few years ago … I missed the deadline to send new poems this year! Thanks Sus, for finding some to print!
Literary Burlesque: Saturday, May 20, 8 p.m.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged literary burlesque, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer on May 14, 2017| 2 Comments »
It’s not your everyday poetry reading … Founder Amy Irvine gives a tease for what you might expect this year in this article. Hope you can join me, Samantha Tisdel Wright, Erika Gordon, Kierstin Bridger, Corinne Platt, Daiva Chesonis, Craig Childs, Amy Irvine and Lydia Peelle for a night unlike any other at the Ah Haa School in Telluride on May 20 at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at Between the Covers