Poetry might be defined as the clear expression of mixed feelings.
~W.H. Auden
I give thanks to Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer for letting me share her poems today. Rosemerry has a blog called A Hundred Falling Veils where she posts a daily poem. You can sign up to have them emailed to you!
Ode to the Onion I Didn’t Have Tonight
by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
And there you were not
on the shelf with your shiny red skin,
and there you were not in the pan
in thin pink rings filling the air,
and there you were not
in the sauce, that warm underlayer
that grounds the bright tomato—
all night I missed you.
All night, the red wine kept asking,
Where is it? Where is it?
All night, I thought of how
what is missing is sometimes
most here.
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Years Later, I Remember What He Taught Us
by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
The guide stabbed the small round of cactus with his knife,
then held it up in front of him. With his other hand,
he flicked on his lighter and burned off the spines.
I do not remember the smell of it, nor how much it smoked.
What I remember is how he was left with a smooth and harmless
lump of green in his palm. He sliced it opened and taught us to drink.
It could save you, he said, if you find yourself lost in the desert.
Do this. Burn off your spines. Whatever bristles you have grown
to protect yourself, set them aflame. Open however you can,
let me pull you to my lips. I will do the same for you.
We are all lost in the desert.
***************
one dropper of red
turns the whole bowl red—
why I share love poems
~Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
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Want to read more? Here are Things to Do While Trapped in a Cage with a Lion and My Nine-Year-Old Daughter Reads Emily Dickinson
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Nix the Comfort Zone has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Molly!
12 comments:
Oh, my these poems are fresh and sharp. Thank you for sharing...I need to go take a peek at her website. One drop of red...yeah.
Tabatha, what gorgeous poetry, profoundly grounded in details. I especially love "Years Later, I Remember What He Taught Us". "Burn off your spines." Oh! This poem captures so much of what I wanted to say in my own poem this week. Thank you for introducing me to Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer!
Thanks for introducing me to yet another fabulous poet! Enjoyed Rosemary's poems and will definitely check out her site!
So much written as truth, Tabatha: "what is missing is sometimes /most here." Thank you for the introduction. I love the voice of each one.
Thank you for sharing these. They are incredible
Wow, these are wonderful Tabatha, loved the Lion and the the daughter reading Emily Dickinson, and the cactus-what wonderful drinks she offers… Thanks for sharing all!
Dear Tabatha ... you have this extraordinary gift for finding the extraordinary. These poems - and others you share - they open the soul (like the cactus) ever wider, with new ways of seeing (like the onion not had). Thank you for these incredible riches. <3
Such engaging poems! "All night, I thought of how/what is missing is sometimes/most here." I also loved the second poem with instructions of what to do if I'm ever lost in a desert. It is helpful to carry a lighter, isn't it?
You are "the one dropper of red" introducing me to new-to-me poets and poetry, Tabatha. Thank you! :)
Each one of these is wonderful! I think my favorite is the onion one - that last line is just so true.
I love the onion ode (and the concept that in calling attention to something that's absent, we make it present). But the turn in "Years Later, I Remember What He Taught Us" is a wow moment.
As always, a good find! The red wine asking, the cactus spines burning, "open however you can," why I share. Brilliant.
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