Category: Poems

The photo shows a stunning landscape of a volcanic mountain range in Indonesia. In the foreground, there is a volcano emitting a plume of white smoke, which contrasts with the surrounding green and brown terrain. The volcano is surrounded by a sea of clouds or mist that blankets the lower areas, creating a mystical atmosphere. In the background, there are more mountains, with one prominent peak rising above the others. The sky is clear and blue, with a few scattered clouds, suggesting a bright and clear day. The overall scene is serene and majestic, capturing the natural beauty of the volcanic landscape.

“Sometimes” (“Kadang-Kadang”) * A Poem of Indonesia * John RC Potter

aromatica poetica January 30, 2025

Sometimes Sometimes, I miss you. I can’t forget you. You’re not far away, because I can never forget Indonesia. I remember one day we went to a mountain. This mountain is too high, you said to me. You can’t climb; foreigners can’t do it, turn around, go back! But we walked there, to the top of the mountain. Me and you, together. At the top, you took my hand; we looked at West Java below us: the ocean sparkling in …

A whimsical fairytale scene of a small, green dragon perched on a tree branch. The dragon has a vibrant green body with scales that shimmer, and its underbelly is a bright golden yellow. It has two wings that are also green with golden highlights. The dragon's head is adorned with small, horn-like protrusions, and it has a friendly, curious expression. The tree it is resting on has a thick, textured trunk and branches with lush green needles. The background is a soft, mystical green, and there are small glowing orbs scattered throughout, resembling fireflies or magical lights, adding to the magical atmosphere of the scene.

“Koan” * A Fairytale Poem in English and German * Kerstin & Werner Schulz * Plus Audio

aromatica poetica January 22, 2025

Author’s note: My father, Werner Schulz, passed away last January after a long battle with cancer. He was a retired German professor who taught German language and literature as well as the occasional course on Folklore. He left me his collected creative works which are unpublished except his dissertation on Johannes Bobrowski, an East German early 20th century poet. Over the past year I’ve chosen to translate some of his “fairytale” pieces from German into English. Koan translated by …

The image is an artistic illustration depicting a man sleeping in a train compartment. He is wearing a suit and is slumped in his seat with his head tilted back and mouth slightly open. Above his head is a thought bubble showing a plate with bread, grapes, and cheese, suggesting he is dreaming about food. On the small table in front of him is a bottle of wine labeled "Bordeaux France" and a glass of red wine. The train window shows a scenic view with a setting sun over a landscape. The interior of the train has wooden paneling, and there is another passenger visible through the door in the background. The borders of the image are decorated with grapevine motifs.

“The Train to Bordeaux” & Other Poems By Mike Lewis-Beck

aromatica poetica January 15, 2025

The Train to Bordeaux left Paris under delays from a Metro slowdown, a Yellow Vest street action, and a heat wave of 42 degrees Celsius that perhaps caused the Arras diversion due to an announced ‘obstacle’ on the tracks, a could-be jump. German newlyweds across from us, red and happy, brimmed with cold beer downed in the station patio sun. As the train passed Poitiers, gateway to the South, I dreamt of a chilled Pineau des Charentes with a …

The image is a colorful, comic book-style illustration of a kitchen scene. In the center, there is a large pressure cooker on a stove, with steam dramatically bursting out from the top, creating a cloud-like explosion effect. The background features green cabinets and a yellow wall with a red polka dot pattern. On the stove, there are two smaller pots with lids. To the right, there is a countertop with a watermelon, a pineapple, a tomato, and a bowl of fruit. The overall style is vibrant and exaggerated, typical of comic book art.

“Cooked Under Pressure” & Other Poems * Joan Mazza

aromatica poetica June 18, 2024

Cooked Under Pressure My mother loved her pressure cooker and gave testimony as if in a commercial: Preserves vitamins, fast cooking! Energy efficient! Sterilizes your food! Even quick-cooking vegetables like spinach, escarole, and broccoli went under the power of pressure, set the valve jiggling as if it might explode at any second. My father arrived as Mother served the meal. He washed his hands and ate in silence, while pressure built in that small dinette. We knew he could blow …

Albert, a male mandrill with his red and blue face squats on a rock in the Berlin Zoo with some trees behind him: Sep 2015 by Katma0601. Creative Commons.

“The Flavors of Red” & Other Poems * Sharon Whitehill

aromatica poetica May 15, 2024

The Flavors of Red 1 It arrives with the salt taste of blood, the hot-pepper burn on the tongue, strikes the ear with the force of a shouted command or the pitch of a scream, and remains like the lingering mark of a slap, the invisible glow of an unwanted touch. 2 Drink your wine in a room …

Black and white illustration of a woman sitting at a desk looking at her computer screen from a back/side angle. Her hair is in a loose bun on the top of her head and she’s wearing a tank top. Beside her is a window with curtains that are bunched and tied revealing a night sky: a crescent moon and some stars beyond. Glowing light shows a portion of face and arm, but all is mostly black. On the desk is a big computer screen, keyboard, a cup with pencils, some books, and a tissue box. On the screen is a color promo photo of Fille en Aiguilles. The sleek black bottle, skyscraper like, with a rectangular body and cylindrical top is resting in an amber pond surrounded by pine needles. Illustration by Alabaster Rhumb for The Sillage Series. This one about trauma.

Sillage 4: Fille en Aiguilles * Poem + Essay * Jehanne Dubrow

aromatica poetica April 18, 2024

Aromatica Poetica is delighted to present the fourth in the Sillage series by Jehanne Dubrow. She is the author of several books of poetry and prose that dance with our heart’s senses, including Taste: A Book of Small Bites, which we highly recommend! Each of the 12 poems are written in the voice of a specific perfume—this one is Fille en Aiguilles[i]—and were begun during the height of the pandemic. For this Sillage series, the poems are paired with a …

Fog Man: an image of a human figure, from the hip up, shrouded in fog with his hands pressed against apparent glass closest to the viewer—they alone are black, the rest is greys and whites.

“Fog Man” & Other Poems By Michael Lee Johnson

aromatica poetica April 9, 2024

Fog Man (V2) https://www.aromaticapoetica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/FogManV2ShorieF.mp3 There is a stranger in the fog screaming into this harbor tonight. A lonely son-of-a-bitch without a mother or a lover. He screams obscenities with bad breath. There is a way the moon investigates a sailor in fog at night, sheltering no one. Hungover in the lead piping suffering from myopia but downing in pride, hyperopia magnified. These memories are distant. A lady now of a dream still walker on sliding sand near that beach, leaving …

Sillage 3: Carnal Flower * Poetry + Prose * Jehanne Dubrow

aromatica poetica January 11, 2024

Aromatica Poetica is delighted to present the third in a series called Sillage by Jehanne Dubrow. She is the author of several books of poetry and prose that dance with our heart’s senses, including Taste: A Book of Small Bites, which we highly recommend! Each of the 12 poems are written in the voice of a specific perfume—this one is Carnal Flower—and were begun during the height of the pandemic. For this Sillage series, the poems are paired with a …

A 1940 black and white photo of a California farmer’s China cabinet containing plates, cups, and vases. From NYPL.

“brief encounters” * Poetry * Sister Lou Ella Hickman

aromatica poetica December 21, 2023

winter night the flame whiff of logs down the street somewhere she kept her dad’s clothes hidden in a closet to embrace his lingering presence yesterday someone made a wrong turn discovering lawns of fresh cut grass low tide in the bay pond water close by baling hay a son’s pair of smelly socks a friend’s new car two women chatter on the way to lunch open the glass door to grandma’s china cabinet oh the perfume of old wood …

“Once I came to you as smoke and cognac, / which is to say something to take / into the mouth. I didn’t mind / being pure pleasure…” –“Ambre Narguilé”

SILLAGE #2: Ambre Narguilé * Poetry + Prose * Jehanne Dubrow

aromatica poetica November 14, 2023

Aromatica Poetica is delighted to present the second in a series called Sillage by Jehanne Dubrow. She is the author of several books of poetry and prose that dance with our heart’s senses, including Taste: A Book of Small Bites, which we highly recommend! Each of the 12 poems are written in the voice of a specific perfume—this one is Ambre Narguilé—and were begun during the height of the pandemic. For this Sillage series, the poems are paired with a …