Tonight, it seems impossible to not notice
the god that brightens the cup of mint tea
and the soft-scented god in the lavender petals.
The quenching god in the tangerine
juice running down the wrists.
And the laughing saline god
that crashes the ocean waves.
The stinky god in the stinky fish
and the starlit god in the dark abyss
and the grumbling god in the growling belly
and the somber god in the pillow—
it’s a wonder I ever forget how holy
the world is, every line, every hair,
every scale, every sound—and yet somehow
sometimes I miss the balancing god
in the bicycle tire and the ticklish
god in the inner thigh and the sweetening
god in the green bananas that even tonight
are engaged in ripening, that miracle
of transforming into a deeper sweetness
minute by minute by minute.
Posts Tagged ‘find holiness in the everyday’
Holy
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged find holiness in the everyday on April 20, 2021| 2 Comments »
Biomechanical Creature
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged find holiness in the everyday, hand, kayleen, self discovery, touch on February 4, 2021| 4 Comments »
Anything can be a holy path, says Kayleen,
and I begin to trace the outline of my left hand
with my right index finger, following
the familiar shape, surprised
at how intimate it is, this tiny tactile journey
of wrinkles and knuckles, fingers and thumb—
I close my eyes and my finger continues
to slowly travel the tips and webs, rises
and vees, a labyrinth of skin and nail
I navigate through touch.
How many years have I avoided knowing
myself as holy? How many days
have I desecrated this temple of flesh
and breath with belittling thoughts?
How many hours have I resisted the pleasure
I feel now as I explore this fleeting path,
this haptic trail steeped in awe?
Perhaps science could explain away
this divine excursion as nothing more
than a series of electrical impulses
moving at eighty feet per second
through my neural infrastructure,
but somehow knowing how the body works
makes this gentle path I choose today
even more oh! more holy.
*quote from Kayleen Asbo in “Blessing Thread: Wales and Ireland,” an online class
Not Out of the Closet
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged clothes, find holiness in the everyday, poem, poetry, wardrobe on August 11, 2018| Leave a Comment »
They hang in the closet, their shoulders fading,
all these clothes I can’t bear to take
to the Second Chance.
The black cocktail dress with the plunging neck
its bodice snug, its open back,
made for a sassy uptown evening,
and the deep red jacket, more froth than cloth,
artsy and hand stitched, something to wear
on stage or to an art opening.
The silvery coat that fits like snake skin,
and the long silk skirt just right for a beach
that I’ve never been to in France.
Every day I walk to the same plastic hanger
in the middle of the closet and pull off the same
black cotton dress, somewhat shapeless,
perfect for pulling dandelions in the garden
or going to the grocery store to buy eggs,
for driving my son to math camp or hiking in Bear Creek.
Every day I choose that same black dress, every day, and why not,
when it’s equally well suited for paying bills
and washing breakfast dishes and dusting the unplayed piano.
Just right for waiting on hold for the insurance company
or writing an article about the history of kitchens or
changing the water in the fish tank, or, for that matter,
for cleaning the closet as I look again at all those beautiful clothes
and choose to keep them, let them hang right where they are,
a testament to some other woman I used to be. Huh, she was younger,
but you know, I almost look like her.
The New Chapbook is Out!
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged book, conversations with a mystic, find holiness in the everyday, imagination, poems, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, Rumi, The Miracle Already Happening on December 28, 2011| 2 Comments »
The Miracle Already Happening: Everyday life with Rumi
Poems by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
50 pages
Liquid Light Press, 2011
$12
What would happen if a Sufi mystic showed up in your kitchen? Or at your son’s elementary school choir concert? Or in your garden? In this playful chapbook, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer has poetic conversations with Rumi through his translations by Daniel Ladinsky and Coleman Barks and through her imagination. Whimsical and humble, these are poems of discovery, praise, and unlearning, invitations to find holiness in every moment, every place. Even Walmart.
What people are saying about “The Miracle Already Happening”:
A delightful collection of poems to savor and treasure … a deep oasis for all who seek to experience the sacred in every moment.
—Elizabeth H. Small, editor, Poems of Awakening
A rare treat: a rigorous conversation with the past made fresh by vulnerability, playfulness, humor and knockout surprise. There is so much integrity here, and discipline, and grace. And restraint, and cutting loose all at once. All this in poems that can be surrounded by a great quietness. The sensation can be like listening for birdsong, and having the bird silently and suddenly land on your shoulder. If you don’t fall over, you will shout or laugh.
—Peter Heller, author, Kook, and The Whale Warriors
One of the wonders of recent poetry has been the renewed popularity of the Sufi mystic, Rumi. Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer confirms that great poet’s new life in remarkable poems of her own, conversations with a distant master that make us aware just how near he really is, how helpful in his teaching.
—David Mason, Colorado Poet Laureate, 2010-2014
How to Order:
To order a signed copy: email Rosemerry at wordwoman@mesa.net and include your mailing address and to whom you want your books signed. She will send you an invoice for the book plus shipping.
To order onine: http://liquidlightpress.com/rwt.htm