L U M I N A * N O S T R I

And This Is Why I Hold You Poetry Exercise by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer   SPARKLE A woman becomes a desk  still covered in everything  but what “should be”:  hangers, a battery, jumper cables, some cards Jumper cables become electricity sparking what she has in her purse frightening to some, yet alluring to many sons who are always thirsty for a charge Purse turns now to person, a woman to the desk; just a woman hellbent on existing, on taking up space–why not–the rudest of roots do, yield they flower or weed Space holds the desk, stars hold the space and astronauts and rocket ships and extra terrestrials and terra Incognita But do either hold songs yet to be sung? Ships bring about waves, rocketed or not Singing, her sailors be they of stars or of sea Terrified comets wrap their tails in knots,  their source, that one true thing, unknown.

 This one comes from one of Rosemerry's prompts: Emotions 101 Mischief Street Lamp leans over  to Pepper Tree. Even Oleander Bush cranes to hear. Sycamore Leaves  rustle in big guffaws, wind, while Red Fence and Red roof,  swell with inhales of Front Curb’s pink geraniums.  What was once Televi’s Liquor (from whom  cool boys would steal cooler booze when we  were teens) is now Yoga Studio. She  rings as fake as Ficus and Ferns, both now framing  Front Door. More real is Wave Painting,  or Mural of Old Town, the angle of  Flag Pole, erect and unwavering.  Exactly its opposite it, the silly willy Dead Leaves are clumping in this corner and whirling  in that, doing as Dead do– exactly as they please. Black Bike relaxes on Wall who wears peachy orange, pale compared to Pumpkins kissing Counter Tops. Indoor String Lights don't lean but twinkle in their purple hue, transmuting Cobwebs  Calaveras , Esqueletos into Welc...

  I took yesterday off from poetry, wrote six thousand words of prose instead.  Old me would think I'd be proud, electric with enthusiasm at being so many steps closer to the end. But me? I am grieving. I am  sleepless. I am  winded. Writing is expensive no matter what  folks would rather believe.