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
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.
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!
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.
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