for Linda Keetch
In a room where I have never been,
I walk in to find a small brown teddy bear
sits on a couch. Envelope in his lap.
On the envelope, my name.
There are thousands, maybe millions
of ways people show up to say
I am here to help you carry
the weight of your life.
This is how a light tan bear
who sits at eight inches tall
is big enough to embody
a forest-sized compassion.
This is how the soft plush of his belly
becomes a wide portal
through which love can reach
to meet us exactly as we are,
which changes nothing
and everything.
Archive for April, 2025
The Bear
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged connection, friendship, gift on April 30, 2025| 2 Comments »
This moment I want to remember,
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged bathing, friendship, joy, seeing, vulnerability on April 29, 2025| 4 Comments »
when my friend filled the giant
white stone resin tub with great mounds
of frothy eucalyptus lemon
scented bubbles and water as hot
as she could stand and I walked in
to find her laughing, laughing!
head thrown back and eyes alive
with her great luck to find herself
here “in a millionaire’s bathtub,”
her giddy giggles ricocheting
around the tiled room, radiating
gladness and naked joy, and though
only her head was visible above the bubbles,
I saw her, really saw her as herself,
the uncurated version—that glorious
creature we so seldom chance to glimpse
in each other. As I walked away, her voice
followed me up the stairs, full-throated
and citrus bright as she sang out
her bliss, the words indecipherable,
the tune a tune I’d never heard before
but somehow knew by heart.
Sitting Beside the Meyer Lemon Tree with Sherry
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged friendship, identity, legacy effect on April 28, 2025| 8 Comments »
I wasn’t thinking about the roots.
I was thinking of the intensely sweet
perfume, both heavy and bright
in the cool spring air.
I was thinking how much scent
comes from such small creamy flowers,
and how I wanted to save this floral
fragrance like a portal for remembering Sherry
in her black and white boots,
her red poppy necklace, her red spectacles,
and the conversation we had earlier
about what she called “The Legacy Effect”
in which we honor how events
and actions from long ago
still affect who we are today—
like the way she longs to find
the woman from college
who scrunched down her ankle socks
instead of folding them neatly down.
Sherry wants to write her a thank you letter
for changing the way she saw the world—
starting with her socks!
Enamored as I was with the lemon tree scent,
only later did it occur to me to thank not just
the flowers but the roots—shallow and fibrous.
How many roots are inside each of us,
spreading way beyond our own canopy?
How long would the thank you list be
if we named everyone and everything
that made us who we are? How invisible
and essential. Our perfume is their legacy.
The Gathering
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged friendship, glass, laughter, sea, softening on April 27, 2025| 3 Comments »
for Ali and Sherry
Laughter, it softens us,
just hours ago I was
broken glass, but now
after giggling through
dinner and flopping
on the unmade bed
it’s as if I’ve been tumbled
in a warm and shallow sea,
waves of laughter doing
what waves do—
rubbing my sharp edges
against the grit of life
until I feel like a treasure,
like something that belongs
here in your hands.
Water Speak
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged goodbye, language, lovers, river, water on April 25, 2025| 4 Comments »
When you say goodbye
fill each syllable with the sound
of the river as it kisses the shore
just beyond our window,
then, no matter what words you say,
I will hear the unending waves,
will smell the musty,
earthy scent on my skin
long after the words are gone.
There is home in the way
your words cling to me
like water beads on my skin.
This is how I remember
where I am from.
Then What Might I Do?
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged hope, hummingbird, inner wisdom, migration on April 24, 2025| 5 Comments »
There is nothing more hopeful
than hearing the whirr of the first black-chinned
hummingbird returning to the feeder,
knowing he has flown five hundred miles
to arrive at my porch within hours
of the same time the black-chinneds arrived last year
and the year before and the year before.
What inner directive is still intact,
despite the chaos that breeds all around?
I want to show up that faithfully.
Want to listen to the wisdom within
that says This is the way, now go,
go, go, and trust I have the strength
to do so, though the way is long,
though the world is vast, though
the trip must be made alone. If
this tiny bird can fly through cold fronts,
headwinds, hard and heavy rain.
If it can wing across vast open waters.
If it can arrive and make a new nest.
What I Heard Her Say
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged friendship, immensity, pep talk, self actualization, self awareness on April 23, 2025| 7 Comments »
with thanks to Kayleen
It is true, you are too much for some—
especially those who have not yet learned
they carry the sea inside them. Especially
those who still want to fit their lives
into small, dry boxes with tight-fitting tops.
But there will be some who desperately need you
to show up every bit as immense as you are,
not one drop smaller, need you to be unashamedly
vast and deep and full of strange things
neither you nor they can understand.
Maybe it’s just one person who needs you
to be that big. Maybe that person is you.
—Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Ways to Open
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged forgiveness, opening, stuck on April 22, 2025| 10 Comments »
There’s the lilac way, impulsive,
shrugging out of hard bud scales
while the nights are still cold,
then flooding the world
with the sweet perfume of vulnerability.
Or the way a housefly opens its wings,
almost mechanical,
prompted by a pulse that triggers
marionette-like pulleys and hinges.
There’s the wine way, sensual, responsive
to air, like how a glass of sauvignon blanc
opens into a meadow with a fresh cut path
through tall green grass with wet stones,
flanked by asparagus and nettles.
I am thinking now, of how tightly I’ve closed
my mind around a certain thought.
How impossible the unclenching seems,
though all around me are proofs
of how naturally things might open—
open the way a child will open his hand
to his mother when he desperately wants to be held.
Open the way a sky does when afternoon clouds
evaporate and all that is left is blue.
Open the way a life does when,
through what grace, we learn again
we can forgive.
The Third Option
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged bathing, frame, middle way, nondual thinking, survival on April 21, 2025| 12 Comments »
We have two options only: bow or break.
— Maria Popova, The Marginalian
I am learning there is a third option: bathe.
—Winifred Nimrod, The Metta Newsletter, April 21, 2025
When Wini tells me the third option is bathe,
my whole body relaxes, as if I’ve just slipped
into the warm tub of the moment and now I am steeping
in the truth of the middle way, submerging myself
in the liminal waters of how it is we live between extremes.
I’ve always wondered how we get clean—
sure, we scrub away at whatever stories we’ve told ourselves,
but then we sit and stew in our own debris.
Still, when Wini said “bathe,” I felt how the word
took my mind out of its deep twin channels and invited
a plunge into something new—that place where
I might soak in the world as it is, full body, part broken,
part bow, soap mingling with grime,
my fingers starting to wrinkle as I slide deeper in.
Lots of Bits of Great News!
Posted in Uncategorized on April 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Interview on Loss in Global Heart
How does love continue to grow after loss? I am so grateful for Global Heart for sharing this interview about devastation after loss, about how we speak about grief with others, about writing as a way to meet loss, and the yin and yang energies of writing. Plus four poems from my newest book The Unfolding.
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Interview with Danusha Laméris on Emerging Form
How is a poetic practice like faith? I was so excited when I asked poet Danusha Laméris what was most exciting for her these days in her creative process and THAT was the question she was asking herself. We talk about this, how she thinks all art comes from an “irritant” we struggle with our whole lives, how a writing practice grows us, the role of trust in creative practice, and the relationship between creative practice and time. You can listen to our conversation on my podcast on creative process, Emerging Form, which I cohost with my bestie, science writer Christie Aschwanden. This episode with Danusha just came out on Thursday—and there are over a hundred more free main episodes you can listen to, too! Plus bonus content for paid subscribers. Find out more here.
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Poem in ONE ART Haiku Anthology
If you’ve been subscribing to the daily poems for a while, you know I love very short poems, and I am delighted to have one of my haikulings (what I like to call my three-line poems) accepted into the ONE ART 2025 Haiku Anthology. You can read this fabulous collection here.
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Celebrating Earth Day with Poetry and One Earth Sangha
For Earth Day, I am so happy to have a poem published by One Earth Sangha—a poem that celebrates this world—how unique, how fragile, how singular. What is our work as stewards to this beautiful planet? What lens must we use to see how essential it is for us to do everything we can to care for it? Feel free to share this link with your own Earth Day celebrations and gatherings.
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Pure Imagination: A Poetry Thoughtshop Drawing on One of Our Greatest Gifts
April 24, 6-7 MT,
Zoom, recording available
sliding scale
The effort of the imagination is to turn the boundary into a horizon because there is no end point for you. The boundary says, Here and no further. The horizon says, Welcome.
—Barry Lopez, Horizons (short film by Jeremy Seifert)
How do we envision a better world for ourselves, for others? How do we dream into the world we most want to inhabit? How can imagination enrich not only our creative practice but our lives? What might happen if we let ourselves think new thoughts and form new ideas beyond what is right in front of us … Let’s find out together. In this one-hour webinar-style thoughtshop, join poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer as she reads and talks about poems that blossom out of the real and welcome us into the realm of infinite possibility. She will then offer invitations for you to do your own writing later. There will be time for questions and responses. After the event, all who register will receive a link to the recording, links to the poems she reads, plus the writing invitations. To register, visit here.
Bouquet of 19 Haikulings from San Miguel de Allende, Denver and Tulum
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged haikuling, mexico, travel on April 20, 2025| 8 Comments »
Hi friends!
I’m back from vacation with my family–we spent time in San Miguel de Allende, Denver and Tulum–and as you’ll read, yes, I did break my fifth metatarsal in my foot. And I will be fine–the best case scenario for a broken bone in your foot. I am still planning to be in California next week to do performances and workshops–albeit on crutches, but with a smile on my face.
Also, so many fabulous things happened while I was gone–I will put some of them into a gathering of good news in another post, plus a link to my thoughtshop this week on our glorious imagination and poetry.
Below you’ll find poems from all the days I was gone–sometimes more than one a day–and with this, the daily poems will resume appearing here in a daily way!
Love,
Rosemerry
horizon line—
feeling my love
travel beyond it
*
church bells in the dark—
the sound of two forty-five a.m.
becomes lullaby
*
like a ripening guava
this small hard memory
now sweetens the whole room
*
napping in the sun
my limbs forget
what an hour is
*
it’s okay if you can only
conjugate in the present
says the scent of fresh tortillas
*
entering the ancient church
how many others whispered here
thy will be done
*
hand above the knob—
how many doors did I close
to open this one?
*
one misstep
and the thin bone breaks—
time to learn new ways to dance
*
rather out of tune
the mariachi band—
still my joy bright as their trumpets
*
like clouds with wings
this tree billowing
with white egrets
*
as if nature went wild
with a purple crayon—
city of jacaranda
*
foot broken
finally still enough
to hear the chickadee
*
like seaweed on the beach
these old stories of self—
each morning, time to rake again
*
listening to waves for days—
what part of me
is not ocean?
*
anger is potent fuel
but joy, joy burns
just as bright, more clean
*
I want to swallow
the whole universe with my heart
starting with this bitter bite
*
scent of mesquite fires
clings in my hair,
whispers, you belong
*
I cannot fix anything
but I can
hold you
*
the stranger in 15D and I
both sing along with pre-flight music—
shower the people you love with love
—Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
A Two-Week Sharing Hiatus
Posted in Uncategorized on April 5, 2025| 8 Comments »
Dear friends,
Every year I take two weeks off from sharing poems to focus on my family. I will still be writing daily poems, just not posting them. Then, around April 20, I will send you a big bouquet of poems from the past two weeks and the poems will resume their daily arrival in your inbox. Thank you for all the support and love you send–I am so grateful!
If you are having poem withdrawal, you can always find more poems on my blog, A Hundred Falling Veils, which has poems from the last 11 years or so. You can also listen to them daily on your cell phone on the Ritual App in a curated program I do called The Poetic Path. I’ll be back with you soon!
Wishing you joy!
Rosemerry
Revolution
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged citizen, patriotism, peace, protest on April 5, 2025| 3 Comments »
After the political rally, standing on the corner
was the man in the pink flamingo onesie
and the handlebar mustache playing ukelele,
singing “This Land Was Made for You And Me,”
surrounded by folks still carrying their signs
for Peace, Diversity and Equality, and though
no one was listening, though there were no news trucks,
no microphones, no megaphones, and no way
any politician would hear their voices or see their signs,
there they were, singing and showing up despite,
and this was the moment that made me believe
in the path—not just the grand marches toward freedom,
but also the thin trails marked with courage and creativity,
small moments I can follow like bread crumbs
till this country again feels like home.
One Ever-Changing Pressure
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged acceptance, heart, singing on April 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »
bless the accordion heart—
whether it opens or closes
it’s all a chance to sing
2 Upcoming Zoom Classes, 3 In-Person Retreats!
Posted in Uncategorized on April 3, 2025| 4 Comments »
Pure Imagination: A Poetry Thoughtshop Drawing on One of Our Greatest Gifts
April 24, 6-7 MT,
Zoom, recording available
sliding scale
The effort of the imagination is to turn the boundary into a horizon because there is no end point for you. The boundary says, Here and no further. The horizon says, Welcome.
—Barry Lopez, Horizons (short film by Jeremy Seifert)
How do we envision a better world for ourselves, for others? How do we dream into the world we most want to inhabit? How can imagination enrich not only our creative practice but our lives? What might happen if we let ourselves think new thoughts and form new ideas beyond what is right in front of us … Let’s find out together. In this one-hour webinar-style thoughtshop, join poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer as she reads and talks about poems that blossom out of the real and welcome us into the realm of infinite possibility. She will then offer invitations for you to do your own writing later. There will be time for questions and responses. After the event, all who register will receive a link to the recording, links to the poems she reads, plus the writing invitations. To register, visit here.
*
Grateful Anyway: A One-Day Writing Retreat
with Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer & James Crews
IN PERSON at the Meadow Park Building in San Luis Obispo, CA
May 1, 9 a.m – 3 p.m. PT
Please join me and my beloved friend and amazing poet & writing guide James Crews for a day of personal exploration and curiosity about how we show up to meet the world through a writing practice—and how this helps us show up in the world off the page, as well. We will create a safe, no-pressure setting, open to all poets and writers of all backgrounds and training. For more information, please visit HERE.
Oh, Broken-Open Heart: A Pre-Mother’s Day Poetry Gathering for Mourners
with Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer and James Crews
on ZOOM, hosted by Reimagine and Evermore
Thursday, May 8, 5-6:30 MT
For those who might be struggling to celebrate mother’s day, consider joining me and James for an evening of poems, discussion, writing and conversation on Thursday, May 8, 5-6:30 p.m. MT. Hosted by Evermore and Reimagine, the evening will provide a virtual refuge for people who have lost a mother/mother figure or a child. A chance to both mourn and honor. Sliding scale, $0-$30. Register HERE.
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The Art of Unfolding: A Meditation, Poetry, and Ritual Retreat
With Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer & Daniel Rechtschaffen
IN PERSON at Omega Institute in New York
June 15-20, 2025
In this retreat we create a sanctuary of contemplation and creativity. Drawing on both silence and language we explore essential questions: What song lives within you waiting to be revealed? What medicine do you carry for your own healing and for the world? What are your inner demons and daily obstacles standing in the way?
If hurt people hurt people and healing people heal people, then especially in times of crisis, let us move towards individual and collective healing. Rest and creativity may not seem like the most important response to chaos, but these are the practices that heal our relationship to crisis itself. Together, we will explore how to see more clearly amidst perceived threats and unfold our unique gifts in service of a world in need.
Using meditation, embodiment, connection with nature, and psychospiritual work, we listen deeply within. Using poetry, writing, art, and ritual, we leap into creative expression and conversation. In times of crisis, both inner and outer, we have a choice to make: contract into reactivity or engage with brave compassion. for more information or to register, visit HERE
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Poetry Inspired by Nature: An immersive, off-the-grid retreat in the San Juan Mountains
with Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
August 7-10, above Telluride, CO
Friends, I will be leading a very small group of people in four days and three nights of writing, hiking, stilling, sharing, reading, opening and going in. The setting will be the high-alpine forests and ridges of the majestic San Juan Mountains. The lodging is the unforgettable High Camp Hut, hosted by my amazing friend Cindy Farney. It’s one of the most beautiful, secluded settings in southwest Colorado, and Cindy is a human treasure. There are only two spots left of the 12. Women only. For more information, visit HERE.
How I’ve Started to Pray
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged connection, god, prayer on April 3, 2025| 4 Comments »
And if god is in everything—in the bend of the river
and the apricot tree, the song of the blackbird
and the awkward smile of the little ballerina
in purple who wandered out tonight onto the stage
to join a dance recital already in progress—
a dance class that wasn’t even hers— yes, if god
is in everything, and I believe god is—
in the dishrag, in the man who throws
bottles at the people marching for peace,
even in this angriest red sliver of me,
if god is in everything then maybe that is why
I have started to want to pray to everything—
or maybe more truly, to pray with everything—
the wave, the blossom, the awkward smile,
the dirty cotton, the broken glass, the rising ache,
the wonder that opens in me when I trust
there was never even a half of a moment when we all
did not deeply, fully, wholly belong to each other.
What I Know of Love When Times Are Dark
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged candle, dark times, love, prayer on April 2, 2025| 8 Comments »
And if you can’t find a candle,
then light the wick of your wonder.
And if you can’t find your wonder,
then now might be a good time
to pray. And if you don’t
know how to pray,
then perhaps you are doing it right.
What do I know of prayer?
Only that every prayer that has saved me
is a prayer that has found me
instead of the other way round—
a prayer that comes through me,
as if I am nothing more
than flesh in service to a prayer.
And if there is a candle, then light it.
And if there is a candle, ask it
to be your teacher. And if there is
a candle, notice how far its light
can reach. See if you, too, can touch
the world as generously as a candle,
just that far, holding back not even
the tiniest measure of love.
With Tears as I Write
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged bluebird, Charles Bukowski, courage, epiphany, honesty, judgmental, poetry month on April 1, 2025| 8 Comments »
Dear Charles Bukowski,
This morning when my student wanted to share a poem,
I was disappointed when she said the poem was yours.
I didn’t want to hear about whiskey and whores.
And there they were in stanza two,
but also, singing its way through the whole poem
was the bluebird that lives in your heart,
and Charles, I wish you could have heard it,
the living epiphany in her voice as she read the poem to me,
because she, too, has a beautiful animal trapped inside her.
She, too, realizes she can be too clever or too tough
to set that beautiful animal free.
And I fell in love, Charles, with her courage, yes,
but also with the honesty in your words
that winged through any cage
I might have put around my own heart.
In fact, I was shocked to realize I had a cage in place
with bars so stubborn they almost
kept your bluebird from flying in.
This began as a thank you letter, Charles,
but it’s also, I see, an apology.
To you, of course, and also to myself,
and most especially to that little bluebird
I tried to keep out. Look, now there’s a little
cup-shaped nest in my heart where that cage once was,
a nest woven of humility and genuine gratefulness.
And your bluebird now lives in me, too. I know you
wouldn’t cry over a bird living in the heart.
But Charles, you remind me, I do.
Love,
Rosemerry
to read “Bluebird” by Charles Bukowski, visit here.