Vox Populi
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Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer: What I Know of Love When Times Are Dark
And if you can’t find a candle,
then light the wick of your wonder.
And if you can’t find your wonder,
then now might be a good time
to pray. And if you don’t
know how to pray,
then perhaps you are doing it right.
What do I know of prayer?
Only that every prayer that has saved me
is a prayer that has found me
instead of the other way round—
a prayer that comes through me,
as if I am nothing more
than flesh in service to a prayer.
And if there is a candle, then light it.
And if there is a candle, ask it
to be your teacher. And if there is
a candle, notice how far its light
can reach. See if you, too, can touch
the world as generously as a candle,
just that far, holding back not even
the tiniest measure of love.
Copyright 2025 Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer lives with her husband and daughter in Placerville, Colorado, on the banks of the wild and undammed San Miguel River. She served as San Miguel County’s first poet laureate (2007-2011) and as Western Slope Poet Laureate (2015-2017). Her many collections of poetry include The Unfolding.
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Oh Rosemerry…. There is wonder again yes to pray is to be in the wonder held by the wonder…. When I feel wonder prayer comes softly and I feel the Divine! To me the divine is the wonder! So many wonders in our worlds!
Xo
joanne
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Wonder, prayer, a candle ‘holding back not even / the tiniest measure of love’. Such a deeply felt prayer dear Rosemerry – your generous light reaches far. xoxox
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c
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Oh, how I love this radiant poem! I think of Viktor Frankl’s quote “What is to give light must endure burning” and I am willing.
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How beautiful! Thank you, Lisa!
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oh. Lisa. that. and most beautiful of all, your words, I am willing.
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Nice work. It’s all fitting together. Thanks for this poem, Rosemerry. This has “placed my mind before the mirror of eternity and placed my soul in the brilliance of glory”.
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Oh! what a sacred place to be, Owen … thank you for sharing these words and this response.
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This poems changed my day into a good day. “See if you, too, can touch / the world as generously as a candle…”
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Ah, Rosemary, thank you … isn’t it ever amazing to me, too, how sometimes something so small can tip the balance. ❤️❤️
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Rosemerry, always so happy to read your work.
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Rosemerry, always so happy to read your work.
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Thank you, sweet friend ❤️❤️
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I keep trying to light the wick of wonder. Thanks for this illuminating poem, and its metaphors of candle and prayer. Love moves through it from start to finish . Rosemerry, you are a candle and a teacher of wax, waxing in our waning times.
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Light the wick of wonder. Thanks for quoting this metaphor, Jim.
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Lighting the wick of wonder is Rosemerry’s metaphor. I just keep trying to accomplish it.
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a teacher of wax … that i suppose is exactly what i aspire to be … that wax, used up by the light itself, thank you ❤️❤️❤️
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Such will to hope in this prayer of a poem. Dear, dear Rosemerry, I hear you, I do!
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Thank you, dear Laure-Anne … oh to love and live as bravely, as tenderly as a candle …
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‘thought you would like this –
Why do Jews Sway while Praying – Menachem Posner
“The soul of man is a candle of G‑d” (Proverbs 20:27). The candle’s flame constantly sways and flickers as it attempts to tear free of its wick and ascend on high. Our soul is also engaged in a constant effort to escape the corporeality of this mundane world and cleave to its G‑dly source. This is especially true in the course of prayer, those islands in time when we concentrate and focus on our relationship with G‑d. Our body mirrors this effort as it sways back and forth like a flame.
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Thank you, David.
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I DO like this … such an image … thank you
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Thank you – glad to share it. And congratulations on your wonderful poetry – just been reading some. All the best, David
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Who can see the light where there is none?
Where there are lovers, there light is.
Thank you, Rosemerry. Reminders that we all need.
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where there are loves, there light is …
oh to be a lover … to choose it again and again. thank you for these words and this response. ❤️
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Rosemerry is a modern day mystic, like a pane of stained glass coloring the way we see the world, through her poetry. I am moved by this poem, as I start the day with a measure of sorrows and joys, burdens and inspirations. Somehow her losses have taught her to sing, and we are the beneficiaries!
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Thank you for this eloquent heartfelt praise.
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What a beautiful response–and I am so glad the poem met you as you began your day … may we all keep learning to sing ❤️❤️❤️
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