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Posts Tagged ‘dark praise’

Earlier today I did a live interview with the fabulous Kara Johnstad for OmTimes Radio. She’s a wonderful interviewer–insightful and lively, and I really enjoyed our conversation about poetry, Rilke, embracing the full spectrum of experience, life and death and light and dark and imagination and shadow and inspiration and more … plus we listen to several tracks from my new album Dark Praise. Below is a description of the program and here is the link to listen! 

Embrace the beauty of the dark and discover the transformative power of endarkenment in our upcoming Voice Rising Show! Join Voice Visionary Kara Johnstad in conversation with American poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, as they explore the profound depths of creativity, passion, and revelation through Rosemerry’s new spoken-word album, “Dark Praise.” In a culture that often celebrates only the light, Rosemerry’s journey to embrace darkness has brought forth a rich tapestry of wisdom that promises to inspire your own creative journey.

Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, known for her lyrical poetry and unique storytelling, has been recognized for her exceptional contributions to the world of poetry. Join us as we delve into the significance of endarkenment alongside enlightenment and how embracing the dark can open doors to essential self-discovery and connection. Learn how writing about our fears can lead to profound revelations and how the collaboration between poetry and music enhances the power of spoken word.

Don’t miss this opportunity to explore poetry as an oral and aural art form and gain insights into Rosemerry’s extraordinary creative journey. Mark your calendars for an illuminating conversation that celebrates the transformative power of the dark. Stay tuned for this enlightening episode on the Voice Rising Show.

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How do we face the dark? As we meet these darker days, it’s a powerful time to explore our relationship with darkness. This is the final track on DARK PRAISE, a spoken-word album on endarkenment–exploring the ways the dark nourishes us. The track, and the whole album, are available on Spotify, Apple Music, or anywhere you listen to music. You can also purchase the album to support its makers on Bandcamp.

Poetry by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Music by Steve Law
Art by Marisa S. White, “Grace & Gravity”
Video by Tony Jeannette

To Face the Dark

To face the dark,
one does not need a light.
Nor does one need a watch,
a feather, a melody, a sword, a pen.
One doesn’t even need a friend.
To face the dark,
one needs only to face the dark.
There is something easier then
about the facing, when we know
we need no preparation.
Nothing is asked of us except
the willingness to face the dark,
the willingness to pause
in that moment when we
cannot see, cannot know,
cannot float on the sea of habit,
cannot fly on the feathers of routine.
But already, I’ve taken this too far.
It’s so simple, the invitation,
that it’s easy to miss what is asked.
Not a journey. Not even a step.
Just the chance to face the dark,
to meet yourself in that facing—
and to notice what being erased
and what’s doing the erasing. 

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How do we speak of grief with our children? With our beloveds? Sometimes even the softest words feel too crass. Sometimes, the night allows us to be together in wordless times in deeply intimate ways. This poem, “Talking with My Daughter About Grief,” was written after my son died in 2021. It’s part of DARK PRAISE, a spoken-word album on endarkenment–exploring the ways the dark nourishes us.

The video features the amazing Steve Law on guitar, with art by Marisa S. White (Happy Birthday, Marisa!) and it’s made by Tony Jeannette. You can download the album for free or listen to DARK PRAISE on Spotify, Apple Music, or anywhere you stream music. You can also buy the album for $15 to support our efforts on bandcamp

Talking With My Daughter About Grief

We lie in the dark
and speak about anything
but what I ache to speak about.
Some part of me longs
to find the words like search lights
that will help us find
what we don’t yet know
we are looking for.
Or a black light
that might help us see
what is valuable right here,
but invisible to our ordinary eyes.
I try to infuse my words
with candlelight, but somehow
even this feels too brash,
too aggressive, and so
we lie in the dark
and I let the moon
do all the talking.
Oh, waning crescent,
you know when to shine,
when to simply be held
by the dark.

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I hope you enjoy a new cine poem from my new spoken word album DARK PRAISE–this one honoring how we might meet the dense and dark world and make it more porous–featuring the amazing Steve Law on guitar and the art of the wonderful Marisa S. White. This poem, and the whole album, is available for free download anywhere you listen to music (spotify, apple music, etc) or you can support the project by purchasing the album on bandcamp

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Two nights after my son died I had a powerful moment that changed how I was able to show up for myself, for my family, for anything. I write about that in this poem, The Invitation. I love how the guitar by Steve Law opens up the poem, how the art by Marisa S. White, illustrates the kind of receptivity (and dare I say magic) than can happen in the night. I love how the video by Tony Jeannette speaks to how on that night I went from utterly broken to more whole.

“The Invitation” is part of the Dark Praise poetry album on endarkenment, available now to download free wherever you listen to music on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music. OR you can dowload it and purchase it (just to support our work, even though you can listen for free) on Bandcamp.

Friends, I am so delighted with this album. I really hope you will listen to this remarkable collaboration. You can join Steve Law and me LIVE in Buena Vista on Friday, October 14. Details HERE. (also a writing workshop the next day). You can also join us live in Colorado Springs on October 26 with Marisa at the True North gallery. Details HERE.

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Remember when you first felt a tug of desire? “With Red Thread” is a track on DARK PRAISE, a spoken-word album that honors the dark and how it opens us to creativity, passion, intimacy, revelation, dreaming, receptivity, self-discovery and connection. As I explore in this poem, there are ways the dark sets the stage for intimacy–in this case, a first kiss. You can purchase the whole album here. You can listen to it and download it for free on Spotify or iTunes or wherever you listen to music. And you can see all the videos we’ve released so far on my youtube channel here. Thanks to my amazing guitar player partner Steve Law who produced the album. Please share the video and listen to the songs! 

Poetry by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Music by Steve Law
Art by Marisa S. White
Video by Tony Jeannette

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Well, as we prepare for mushroom season in the San Juan Mountains, it seems the perfect time to share this poem, “Mycelial,” part of the Dark Praise spoken word album I made with my friend guitarist Steve Law. The album, available for free download anywhere you listen to music, honors all the way the dark nourishes us. And this poem explores the necessary, even beautiful layers of grief. I love what Tony Jeannette has done with the art by Marisa. S. White … how the veiled woman continues to rise up–like grief, like love, burgeoning out of nothing. Please watch it, comment, share it. 

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Go spelunking in the depths of your imagination. Join me in the cave for a few moments in this video from my new album, DARK PRAISE, created with guitarist Steve Law and artist Marisa S. White. Album and track available for free download on Spotify, Apple Music, or wherever you listen to music. Please share!

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Last year, on the anniversary of my son’s death, I wrote a poem for my daughter, “The One Who Thrives.” It celebrates all the ways she has learned to show up in times when it has been very, very hard. On this eve of her 15th birthday, I honor Vivian–how she continues to meet what is difficult and all the ways she shines. She is one of my heart heroes.

Here’s the video (also below) featuring music by Steve Law, art by Marisa S. White and the video itself is by Tony Jeannette. Share it with anyone who has been through a difficult time and has found a way to flourish … it’s for the ones who blossom “when blossoming doesn’t seem possible.”

I chose “The One Who Thrives” to be the poem that came out on video coincidentally with the new album, DARK PRAISE, fourteen poems of “endarkenment,” honoring what the dark offers us and how it grows us. How it invites revelation, receptivity, sensualness, playfulness, connection, a chance to see the light of others, and of course, a chance to bloom in surprising ways. Steve and I will continue to offer a new video from the album every other week till December.

It’s THRILLING to share the album with you. I am in awe of how Steve Law created music for these poems–so intuitive, so in conversation with the poems. Now the poems feel naked without the guitar when I read them! The music itself and his sensitivity as he plays make for a stellar collaboration. And the poems mean so much to me, spanning the gamut from wildly playful to heartbroken–but never without hope and always always in love with the dark. 

Download DARK PRAISE anywhere you find music: itunes, spotify, deezer, youtube music, more. Add it to your playlists. Share it, please. You can also choose to buy it on Bandcamp, and help us defray the many costs of making it. 

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Hey friends, I am just THRILLED to share with you the next release from my new spoken word album. Dark Praise will come out in its entirety on July 14, but my guitarist Steve Law and I are releasing a sneak peak! The whole album is in celebration of the dark and all the ways it nourishes us–fostering reflection, communion, receptivity, dreams, intimacy, and … as this poem explores, abandon, pleasure and trust. I hope you enjoy “Wild Rose Goes for a Ride with God”–in which my alter ego and God go on a date one night …  PLEASE SHARE IT!

You can download the single on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music and more. 
You can pre-purchase the album for $15 on Band Camp. 

Poetry by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Music by Steve Law
Art by Marisa S. White, “Caught a Ride with the Moon”
Video by Tony Jeannette

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