A Poem a Day for 19 Years: How Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer Turned Grief Into Praise

Our guest today is poet, teacher, and performer Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer.Since 2006, Rosemerry has written a poem every single day. What began as a 30-day challenge with friends grew into a way of living. For her, the page has become a place to practice presence, curiosity, and trust.In this conversation, we explore how a daily creative practice can change the way we see the world and how showing up to the blank page can be life-changing. Rosemerry shares the profound story of losing her son Finn in 2021 and her father soon after. From that grief came her most recent book, The Unfolding, which she describes as written in the key of grief but with a melody of praise.She reads her poem Still Here, about breathing in the first minutes after loss when life insists we keep going, and The Blessing, a meditation on cottonwood catkins and belonging. We talk about the beauty of truth-telling, why authenticity matters more than polish, and how nature is a lifelong teacher.Rosemerry closes with what living from the heart means to her: openness, connection, and the willingness to love and be loved.Resources and MentionsRosemerry’s website: wordwoman.comHer podcast: Emerging FormHer spoken word album: Risking Love (available on YouTube)Her latest book: The UnfoldingSoulStream This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit soulstream926.substack.com