A note from Oormila: Each of these micros has been paired with a miniature painting I made in mixed-media, on used and dried tea bag silk. These are part of a series of over 150 paintings that I painted on tea bags last year when I weaned myself off coffee and started drinking tea. I wanted to recycle the tea bags and I had the idea for making them into mini-canvases. The paintings in this submission have the same title as the micros …
Tag: Lavender
“The Train to Bordeaux” & Other Poems By Mike Lewis-Beck
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 …
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“Mindfulness” * A Poem of Breath * Holly Darragh-Hickey
I draw it in. One—even—breath. Deeper —past the habitual asphyxiation Burning at the base of my throat. It’s a draught to empty— Oh, to swallow deep forests and crisp, alpine air! It circulates, slackening musculature there— Opening up the body. That radiating breath! One chaining easily, from part to part— Alacrity to replace, to fill up every cell. It begins as a zephyr— Parting teeth at first, Fluid, over the coils of my windpipe, Riding the current into the pulse …
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“The Smell of Purple” * Fiction * Rainie Zenith
Before my grandmother died, we would walk down to the cemetery, sit on the bench that faced the road and count cars. Just the red ones. When the count reached ten, we’d walk back up the hill to Gran’s house for a cup of tea and a shortbread biscuit. The most amazing thing about Gran’s house was the bathroom. It was purple in every sense of the word. That is, it was painted mauve and always smelled like lavender, from …
“Lavender” * Poem * Sean Lynch
Whenever I hear the word lavender the only lavender I think about is the lavender that I smelled when I saw my mother die and I felt her heart let go when she tasted death. —About Sean Lynch— Sean Lynch is a poet and editor who lives in South Philadelphia. His fourth chapbook, On Violence, was published by Radical Paper Press in 2019. Poems have appeared in various journals including Hobart, Poetry Quarterly, and Drunk Monkeys. He’s the Founding Editor …
The Marvelous, Unplanned Life of Mandy Aftel, Author, Perfumer, and Museum-Creator * Interview
“Everything I’ve done, I’ve just followed what I’ve been interested in. I’ve never had a plan, I have had no plan about any of this.” – Mandy Aftel Mandy Aftel started making natural perfumes almost 30 years ago. Her passion and artistry have won Aftelier Perfumes many awards and accolades. She’s been featured in countless magazines and blogs from Vogue to Forbes, Now Smell This to Bon Appetit. In 2003, Mandy launched Chef’s Essence, which supplies natural flavor oils and …
Poems & Flash Prose by Mel Finefrock
*Aromatica Poetica is delighted to present Mel Finefrock’s poetry and flash prose in our Blind Writers Project series sponsored by Awesome Foundation Disability* Runoff That night, I washed my hair over and over again as if to clear my head of the persistent thought that I must be unclean. Five months down the road, that rose shampoo has only just begun to smell again of other memories, like that weekend at my dad’s or afternoons on the trail with a …
Distilling the Southwest: An Interview with Clare Licher of PhiBee Aromatics
As interest in aromatherapy explodes, and huge corporations seek to dominate the field with cheap essential oils and hydrosols, I’m honored to present Clare Licher and her family-run business PhiBee Aromatics, which specializes in the distillation of plants of the Southwest. Situated in Sedona, Arizona, an epicenter of the alternative health, well-being, and spirituality movements, Clare and her family provide the world with beautifully crafted oils that encapsulate the wonder of the unique and special landscapes of the Southwest. I …
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