Christmas Archives - Aromatica Poetica

A small, ragged-edged rectangular slab looks like a fragment of weathered, earthen material, its surface dense with grit, cracks, and compressed fibers. Carved into the center is a sinuous, worm-like “S” shape that dips and curves across the panel. The groove is filled with a coarse, brick-red pigment that sits unevenly in the trench, giving it a textured, raised, almost crumbly feel. The surrounding brown surface appears rough and organic, as if the whole piece were excavated from soil or made of compacted earth. The contrast between the matte, mottled brown field and the vivid, tactile red line makes the form appear both primal and deliberately inscribed. Made for “The Worms.”

“The Worms” * Nonfiction * David Lowe

aromatica poetica December 3, 2025

The worms live in our basement, in two large storage bins stacked on the floor amid the clutter. Eventually, when I’ve built out more shelves and cabinets, they’ll have their own oversize drawers I can easily slide out when it’s time to feed them. I’ll carve the word WORMS into the wood, knowing that when Caroline and I are dead, new owners will puzzle over what was meant by WORMS. I mean worms. Red wigglers; Eisenia fetida in the Latin. …

A digital illustration of a white woman in a black sleeveless dress stands against a black backdrop. She holds a smoking object in her left hand, and, in her right, she holds a cord connected to a hanging cauldron. Subtle, amber light emanates from the right hand. From Ro Miller, credit: Imagine.Art.

“Scent of Faith” * Nonfiction * Ro Miller

aromatica poetica February 15, 2024

I was indoctrinated as a Catholic, so you will forgive the following several hundred words. I recently attended the Riverside Church Candlelight Carol Festival, an event aptly structured around a selection of Christian Carols. Upon sitting in the closely packed pews, wearing what now amounts to my Sunday best, I was thrust back into the bittersweet memories of Sunday mass. The proximity of strangers, the lukewarm dread at the approaching sermon, and the stoic resignation that worship was my reality …

A retro Christmas tree with popcorn, gingerbread men, colored balls, and a gold star on top, surrounded by beat up marching-band instruments -- bass drum, tuba, snare, trumpet, flute, clarinet, and a couple tarnished cymbals – sit on ugly blue-green shag carpeting with wood paneling behind. By Alabaster Rhumb.

A Country Christmas * Fiction * David P. Stewart

aromatica poetica December 22, 2021

Businesses in Canton shuttered early on fall Fridays as the high school drum major marched a mile of black and gold uniformed musicians round the Courthouse Square. The proud city folks followed the band in a joyful procession to Ben Roberts Stadium. Even hard workin farmin families finished their laborin ways before the sun went down so they could make their way to the famed field. The mighty Canton Panthers were consistent champions in the Choctaw Conference. Daddy mostly told …