2 Poems by Anika Rossow Strasser

Ordinary Wonders 

by Anika Rossow Strasser 

 

Pennies on the sidewalk.
Poems.
In a way,
every poem,
penny,
the same.
But even if they’re similar
each is still its own.
Has its own
history
shaping its persona.
How many
hands touched this poem/penny?
How many
times was it dropped
out of the pockets of passersby?
Time
wears and tarnishes.
The poem/penny becomes
well-known,
well-worn.
But the glimmer remains.
I pick it up
and keep it.
Like the beat of shoes on the sidewalk,
the rhythm rides along with me,
the shape of it in my mind.

 

 

 

Cheers! 

by Anika Rossow Strasser 

 

When the flood of life overtakes you, sing! 

for there is comfort in a cup of tea. 

 

Amber-gold honey, 

jeweled strings of sweetness, 

dripping gently. 

Wisps of warmth,  

curls of steam, 

float calm and free. 

Enveloping you 

 

are flavors floral, herbal, 

birthed from the earth. 

A mingling symphony of taste,  

a fusion subduing 

thunderclouds of worry, brooding. 

Tendrils of doubt 

reach out and grip you 

 

but are dissolved by the fire-hot  

dance of brewing leaves 

wild-eyed green. 

A wave thrashes 

and hurls thoughts irrational: 

Why can’t you do anything right? 

Your existence 

smites the world. 

In spite, 

 

a boiling shield rises,  

energy overpowering 

the darkened skies 

and sharpened words. 

An elixir, soulful sweet, 

heats your heart, 

washing away the cold, cold storm.