for Christie
I am so grateful for the rubber spatula,
the way it sits quietly in the drawer
yet is always ready for action—
is game to scrape the walls of the blender
or to fold chocolate chips into cookie dough.
It evens and swirls the frosting on cake
and welcomes the tongue
of a child. In a sharp world,
it knows the value of being blunt;
it knows that to smooth is a gift to the world.
Some people are knives, and
I thank them. Me, I want to belong
to the order of spatulas—those
who blend, who mix, who co-mingle
dissimilars to create a cohesive whole.
I want to spread sweetness, to be a workhorse
for beauty, to stir things up,
to clean things out. I want to be useful,
an instrument of unity, a means, a lever for life.
I love it. Just like you Rosemerry, to whip up a poem like this!
Oh you … great response!!
Reminds me of one of my favs. Marge Piercy: To Be of Use
Oh yes! I just looked it up … what a fabulous poem!
[…] Read poetry for me like this Common Mindfulness Technique That therapists advise you to discourage you when you feel anxiety approaching. Five things you can see. Four things you can feel physically. Three things you can hear. Two things you can smell. And one thing you can taste. Poetry makes me stay in the moment. It makes me use my senses. It forces me to slow down and be observant. It makes me notice the spoon and makes me ask what this spoon is trying to teach me. Well, I’m not the poet here. Let Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer explain in an excerpt from simple tools. […]
[…] Read poetry for me like this Common Mindfulness Technique That therapists advise you to discourage you when you feel anxiety approaching. Five things you can see. Four things you can feel physically. Three things you can hear. Two things you can smell. And one thing you can taste. Poetry makes me stay in the moment. It makes me use my senses. It forces me to slow down and be observant. It makes me notice the spoon and makes me ask what this spoon is trying to teach me. Well, I’m not the poet here. Let Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer explain in an excerpt from simple tools. […]
[…] Čtení poezie je pro mě takové oblíbená technika všímavosti které terapeuti doporučují, aby vás uzemnily, když cítíte, jak se úzkost uzavírá. Pět věcí, které můžete vidět. Čtyři věci, které můžete fyzicky cítit. Tři věci, které můžete slyšet. Dvě věci, které můžete cítit. A jednu věc můžete ochutnat. Poezie mě nutí zůstat v okamžiku. Nutí mě to používat své smysly. Nutí mě to zpomalit a být všímavý. Všiml jsem si špachtle a zeptal jsem se, co se mě ta špachtle snaží naučit. No, já tady nejsem básník. Nechte Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer vysvětlit v úryvku z Jednoduché nástroje. […]
[…] Reading poetry for me is like that popular mindfulness technique that therapists recommend to ground you when you feel anxiety closing in. Five things you can see. Four things you can physically feel. Three things you can hear. Two things you can smell. And one thing you can taste. Poetry makes me stay in the moment. It makes me use my senses. It forces me to slow down and be observant. It makes me notice a spatula and has me ask what that spatula is trying to teach me. Well, I’m not the poet here. Let Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer explain in an excerpt from Simple Tools. […]
[…] Reading poetry for me is like that popular mindfulness technique that therapists recommend to ground you when you feel anxiety closing in. Five things you can see. Four things you can physically feel. Three things you can hear. Two things you can smell. And one thing you can taste. Poetry makes me stay in the moment. It makes me use my senses. It forces me to slow down and be observant. It makes me notice a spatula and has me ask what that spatula is trying to teach me. Well, I’m not the poet here. Let Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer explain in an excerpt from Simple Tools. […]