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Posts Tagged ‘belize’

For Five Minutes in Belize

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on April 18, 2022| 12 Comments »



On a wooden plank
only eight inches wide
I stood thirty feet
above the ocean
and stared at the waves below,
stared at the horizon,
stared at my fear of heights,
stared until I felt such deep peace
standing on this slender choice.
All it would have taken
was one step.
One step, and gravity
would have done the rest
to plunge me into the ocean
in the name of fun.
The whole time I stood there,
I thought of you,
how you would have
leapt from that plank
with no hesitation.
I loved this about you—
your abandon,
your joy in launching
into something new.
Gravity, they say,
is the weakest force we know.
Though it can hold galaxies together,
it’s weak enough
to overcome it every day.
Weak though it is,
I’d like to say
I overcame it.
That I stood at the edge
and chose, instead of falling,
to hold things up—
chose to hold up
the memory of you falling,
chose to hold up
my own tired heart,
chose to stand
in a difficult place
and notice how beautiful it was,
the golden light on the water,
the wind on my skin,
chose to walk a narrow path
that felt kind to myself,
though in my head
the voice kept saying
jump, jump, jump.

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A giant bouquet of poems from Belize–plus two events this week

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on April 17, 2022| 8 Comments »

Hi friends–

I’m back! My husband and daughter and I spent two-weeks in Belize–half in the rainforest and half at the beach–and it was so healing. I know that for some, travel really excites the muse. For me, I tend to be much more prolific at home. Still, every day I wrote one (or more) very short postcard-like poems (i call them haikulings because they look haiku-ish) … and here they are for you. Plus, below that, you’ll find write ups and links for an online reading I will do on Tuesday (poems about the earth for earth day with a Q & R to follow) and an online thoughtshop I will do on Wednesday (other people’s poems about falling in love with the broken world, along with lots of prompts for your own writing.) And now we are officially back to posting daily poems. Hugs to you all–
Rosemerry

Bouquet from Belize


sky as my witness—
while swimming in the jungle river
a white egret lands inside me

*

bright trill of cicada
and creaking of frogs—
even self-doubt shuts up to listen

*

spinning from a strand
of old spider silk—
one dead leaf dances

*

after the downpour
every path in the garden
strewn with petals

*

orange blossoms in my hair—
perfume of goodness to come,
goodness that already is

*

floating through the limestone cave—
practicing again how to meet the world
head first

*

table set for three—
at dinner I face
where your eyes are not

*

in the vast rainforest
somehow it finds my naked leg
the tiniest silver tick

*

climbing the steps
of the ancient Mayan temple—
this awe brief as a lifetime

*

heaven
earth
this day a ladder

*

I wake to hear my daughter
laughing in a dream—
I replay that music till dawn

*

one-note whine of the zipline—
the ohm
of adventure

*

steady pink beacon—
pressing my heart
to the sunrise

*

peddling in beauty
this night
with sand in its toes

*

at the Mayan temple—
this family photo
without you in it

*

two-week vacation—
less like a comma, more
like an open-ended em-dash

*

because you are not here
I find you everywhere—
feather, sky, river, white bunny, my own hand

*

he says, do nah stand
unda da coconut tree—
everywhere I look, coconut trees

*

in turquoise waters near golden sand
I learn again
the only paradise is within

*

grinding the cocoa nibs
into dark paste—
come, love, smell my fingers

*

rocking in the great arms
of the ocean—
wanting to hold the world this way


April 19, 6 p.m. mountain time
Earth Words, poetry performance/Q&R for Crested Butte Library
The earth itself is an altar to breakdown, decay,
collapse, demise. And from these infinite violences,
we rise, like trees, we rise.
               —Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, “On Earth Day”
In honor of National Poetry Month and Earth Day, Rosemerry will read from her own poems in an exploration of outer landscapes and how they inform our inner landscapes (who we are and how we connect with the world and each other). Free. For more information, contact Taylor Worsham, taylor@gunnisoncountylibraries.org . No need to pre-register. Meeting info below:

Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. 
https://meet.goto.com/302136501

You can also dial in using your phone.
United States (Toll Free): 1 866 899 4679
United States: +1 (571) 317-3116

Access Code: 302-136-501 

Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts: https://meet.goto.com/install

*

April 20, 6 p.m. mountain time
Poetry Thoughtshop: Falling in Love with the Broken World
$12 (but ask SHYFT if you need a scholarship)

How you see the world—the way you meet even the smallest moment—affects everyone and everything in the world around you. The stories you tell yourself and others create the big conversation—what are we doing here? What does it mean to be alive? And practically speaking, how do we change our perspective? Join poet, storyteller and performer Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer for a playful, intimate evening of poetry that invites you to fall more deeply in love with yourself, with others, with the moment and the world. 

In this 40-minute poetry thoughtshop, poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer will share poems from a variety of authors about brokenness, self-compassion, generosity and kindness. She’ll also offer a host of writing prompts to help you write your own poems that explore how you might choose to love the broken world, whether you pick up your pen or not. 

This event is hosted by SHYFT at Mile High whose mission is to provide all people, regardless of ability to pay, with classes and programs proven to reduce stress, heal trauma, and create connection. To register: click here

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