Showing Up in the Physical World

honey
      
for rwt—this, my simple truth on a summer thursday

well,
we decide to boycott amazon.
dave cancels prime,
figures out other places to shop,
and i pretty much just stop
buying things.

but then,
rosemerry wahtola trommer,
her poetry.
i want to give
all the honey
as a gift.
so i place an order
at the book shop
in beverly farms, a spot
i haven’t visited for years
and years.

when i get the call today
telling me my order is in,
i huff. not in the mood
to be interrupted,
not of a mind
to make the drive.

yet, oh!
as i walk from car to shop,
cool breezes
blow off the ocean
from just a block away,
sunlight warms my face,
shore-smells
signal low tide
with its salty exposed seagrass
and skittering hermit crabs.

and, oh!
books and books
hang out together on the shelves—
familiar friends,
and strangers
whose names i know
but haven’t met yet.
and, in person,
hannah behind the counter

passing all the honey
from her hands
to my hands—
conversation,
connection,
uplift.

well,
well,
well!

—dotty seiter

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Notes about poem and art:
• “honey” is a modern-day narrative poem written in free verse with just the tiniest bit of internal and straight-up rhyme in place for good measure. I found both pleasure and challenge in moving from experience to free-write to poetry.
• All the Honey is another mood-mini, i.e. I covered much of a sketchbook page with water, dripped in watercolor, and tipped my sketchbook this way and that according to whatever struck my fancy as I watched the colors shift in that moment, on that day, in that mood. I later came in with pens, and this is where they took me.



14 responses to “Showing Up in the Physical World”

  1. Before I go to the pool! Love the free verse. Glad you have choices where to buy…. something that is missing here…. books in English…..

    Had book depository once… but Amazon took them over and then shut it down… they had free shipping!

    Glad you went out and received some lovely gifts! The smell of the ocean, warm sun, books and more books and connections. Like a candy store!

    Love you free water color! The colors of your camp came through! Next time when you buy watercolor buy some granulated… they make great texture when you move the paint around!

    Like

    1. Enjoy that time at the pool—no small gift, that!

      Hadn’t thought about your access to books in English. How do you procure most books you read? I rarely purchase, am a faithful library user and, since Covid nearly all my library borrowing takes place via apps such as Libby and Hoopla, and audiobooks from those sources are about 50% of what I borrow.

      Happy to hear you enjoyed both today’s poem and watercolor. Granulated watercolors! I appreciate the mention—have never used them but now you’ve planted a seed.

      Thanks for pointing out how the colors of Takodah featured in Saturday’s posted poem made an appearance in today’s posted art! Great connection! Hadn’t picked up on that, but now I’m thinking about how I might use today’s painting as a prompt for what I could do to develop a canvas primed MONTHS ago. Haven’t touched it since priming! It’ll require using acrylics—haven’t worked with them in AGES.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Lovely to read your poem, I recognize those choices and thoughts. Love seeing your painting, and how well chosen the silver lines!

    Like

    1. Simone, happy to see you here! Happy to know you recognize some of the thoughts and choices in my poem.

      Thanks for the nod to the silver lines and their part in this painting. The entirety of this piece was a joy in the making.

      Like

  3. Joyful Puttering Avatar
    Joyful Puttering

    Well, well, well! Love your playful real life adventure with a just a little rhyme poem! We dropped Amazon about a year ago…and haven’t looked back. We can stumble on good things when we do things the old fashioned way!

    Your dripped, tipped, and sketched painting is simply fabulous! We can stumble on good things when we play with watercolor and pens!

    Like

    1. MaryAnn thanks for your comments, including the tiny bit of straight-up rhyme. We dropped Amazon a long time ago also, probably over 18 months ago.

      Both pieces here, both poem and art, brought along considerable joy as I created them, as well as good old fashioned grounding and calmness, all to my great gratitude.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. I see Takodah in that art…

    xo

    Like

  5. As Carol pointed out in her comment above, it has the colors of Takodah that had star billing in Saturday’s posted poem : )

    Are we doing the lake swim this afternoon? Perfect day for it! Totally matches my art.

    Like

  6. I so enjoyed getting lost in your freeverse (a universe of tumbling words!) this morning! I think bookstores are the only stores I enjoy -adventure awaits!

    and I love your watercolor with the beautiful line work – a waterverse for wandering! Xoxo

    Like

    1. Lola, thank you for perceiving a universe of tumbling words and a waterverse for wandering in today’s poem and art!

      LOL at your saying you think bookstores are the only stores you enjoy—I can so identify with that. Shopping is NOT my jam, and stores not where I feel at home in the world. BOOKstores, though? LOVE ’em!

      xoxo

      Like

  7. Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer Avatar
    Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

    Oh that image! I love the reflection there and in the poem, too, and of course I love the passing of all the honey from hand to hand to hand …

    Like

    1. Rosemerry, thank you—it was my pleasure to share this with you! Such fun to have your book be the catalyst that led to a heart-lifting experience which in turn led to my writing “honey”!

      I appreciated your seeing the reflection in both poem and art. This blog started as diary of my creative journey when I took up painting unexpectedly over 10 years ago. Then about 18 months ago I made a commitment to expanding my creative practice to include writing poetry regularly. I made the decision to feature both a poem and a piece of art each time I post, whether the two have a connection between them or not—and not intentionally is usually the case! A fun outgrowth of posting both a poem and a painting is that I now turn my attention each time to exploring what links I might discover serendipitously.

      Like

  8. As always, your words fill my mind with lovely images. My “ocean” was memories of La Jolla cove, and The Children’s Pool. The sights, the sounds, the smells. The feel of a cool breeze.

    Your painting was another reminder, of the blessing that is cool, ocean water. xoxo

    Like

    1. Sheila, so gratifying to know that the specifics of a place that’s memorable to me can evoke specific images of places that are memorable to you—that’s what it’s all about! La Jolla cove! The Children’s Pool!

      Liked by 1 person

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My Story

In 2014, I grab an unexpected opportunity to paint.

To make art.

I get hooked.

In 2015 I start a blog—a diary of my creative practice.

I post my paintings and their stories. The good, the bad, the ugly.

In 2025 I begin writing poetry and include a poem and painting in each post.

My compass points: shake hands with fear, be playful, get messy, trust my gut.

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