A Daily Dose of Poetry

A Hundred Falling Veils

• The Poet Reads for the First Time Since Her Son Died January 26, 2022
  with a line from Charles Simic, “The Prodigal” Glade of light on the empty stage.She steps into it, eyes blinded.Someone in the audienceclears a throat. Someonescuffs a sole. Many invisiblesomeones make no sound at all.She has faith they are there.She is holding a stack of papers.Her chest contracts, rises.So much that happens goes unseen,a secret […]
  Rosemerry
• I Would January 25, 2022
    Driving over McClure Pass,stunned by the pink sunrisedraping the snowy West Elks,I remember dozens of timeswe drove this route and love,it makes me miss you. The waycar washes make me miss you.The way pumpkin spice lattesand green tractors make memiss you. The way breathingand walking down the streetmake me miss you. And I thinkof how […]
  Rosemerry
• Sunday Morning January 24, 2022
  A soft poached eggand a slice of pumpernickel toast,a cup of English Breakfastand my oldest friend and Isitting at the round table a sunlit roomlaughing and talking—there are moments so ordinaryas to be perfect—momentswe feel so completely ourselveswe don’t try to hold on to the minutes.Such moments don’t tryto put themselves in a picture frame,don’t […]
  Rosemerry
• Though You Are Far Away January 24, 2022
  The way two cats curl their bodiesinto each other, a yin-yangof feline, I want to curlmy heart beside your heart,no space between us. Somethingabout their connection is contagious—I find myself almost purring.When one rises,the other nuzzles heruntil she settles again.I want that. Your heart.My heart. An ordinarycommunion. A swirl of us.A whorl of us. And […]
  Rosemerry
• Apricity January 22, 2022
  The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green Earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.—Thich Nhat Hanh Today the miracle is to sitin the sunlit room and bein the sunlit room,to be here and only here,here in the bountiful […]
  Rosemerry
• I Bless Every Yes I Said January 21, 2022
  There were nights when my sonwould come to me late, like midnight,and say, Mom, come on, let’s go drive.And though I was tired, and though I knewthe canyon roads would make my stomach turn,I’d say yes, because I was glad he’d ask,and we’d get in the Ford and I’d feel the thrillas it flooded him […]
  Rosemerry
• Preparation January 20, 2022
  Not the butcher knife and not the axe—those instruments that whack and slash.Oh life, give me the paring knife that fits easilyin the hand. I am wounded from the larger blades,scarred by all they’ve cut away. Am I the wielderof the knife? Or the one that’s being carved?If I had my way, I’d shape my […]
  Rosemerry
• Not Overheard in the Parking Lot January 19, 2022
  How are you?she asks walking byas I sit on my bumperand unlace my ski boots.And I say, The track is amazing today,and it’s true, the snow is hard and fastand my lungs are still burningfrom pushing myselfin the cold winter air.What I mean is, I missmy son every minute,and my heart feels likea skinned rabbit […]
  Rosemerry
• Bioluminescence January 18, 2022
  Sometimes, when I fearthe small light I bringisn’t big enough or brightenough, I think of that nighton the beach years agowhen every step I tookin the cool wet sand turneda glowing, iridescent blue—and the waves themselveswere a flashing greenish hue—imagine we could dowhat 7.9 billionone-celled can plankton do—can shine when it’s dark,can shine when agitated,can […]
  Rosemerry
• This Season January 17, 2022
    It is true, every daybrings a sadness—sometimes like a blizzard,sometimes like sleet,sometimes like a clear morningof fifteen below,but I do not wish any of it away. On the coldest mornings here,the birds that choose to stayfluff up their feathersto trap in the chill air,warming it with their own bodiesuntil it becomes their insulation. This is, perhaps, how […]
  Rosemerry