Origin Stories - Laurie Rosen

    Slow Flow Lava 
    by Laurie Rosen

    When he asked, 
    I didn’t say yes right away,
    fearing myself embedded
    like a xenolith, bits 
    and pieces torn off,
    trapped in his magma,  
    thwarted from traveling
    my own journey. 

    And for years it seemed so.
    Traces of me wiped away, 
    my core weakened —
    spun off-course, 
    momentarily interrupted 
    and subdued. 

    But see, I am slow 
    flow lava, 
    enriched by matter 
    and minerals that ensconce me. 
    I surface a volcano
    long believed dormant,
    gather fragments,
    choose my path. 

    Words, rhymes, rhythms 
    bubble and spew — blooms 
    rise from my hot liquid. 

    Previously Published online in Muddy River Poetry Review, Spring 2022
    and Soul-Lit, Summer 2022

Origin Stories – Slow Flow Lava

When my husband asked me to marry him some thirty-eight years ago, I was reluctant. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, but at the time I was still trying to find my place in the world. I had a job that was neither fulfilling nor a good fit and I craved more creativity in my life. I was concerned that if we married and had children, I might never discover that part of myself. I wasn’t afraid that my husband would hold me back, I knew I had no one to blame but myself –– I’ve always been bad at juggling and prioritizing and I didn’t know yet where my real passions lay. We did marry and though life has thrown its curve-balls we’ve had a wonderful marriage, raised two terrific children, travel, hike, kayak, and together enjoy friends and family.

However, I was correct in predicting that I wouldn’t take the time to nurture my passions outside my family. About ten years ago, in my fifties and an empty nester I decided on a whim to take a writing workshop. As a child, I loved writing poetry. But, in college, I focused on social sciences and never considered writing as an option. That first workshop sparked something and I became obsessed with learning craft, style, and finding my voice. As soon as one workshop ends I sign-up for another. I am in two different critique groups, one of which is fairly active with open mics and other events. I attend salons, read lit journals or poetry books daily, and listen to poetry podcasts weekly, (if not daily.) About five years ago I began submitting my poems with surprisingly good results. (The rejections only inspire me to work harder.) “Slow Flow Lava” is a reflection of my evolution into the world of poetry. The metaphor was inspired by my son’s studies in geology and a challenge I gave myself to research and use more earth sciences in my writing.

BIO

A lifelong New Englander, Laurie Rosen’s poetry has appeared in The Muddy River Poetry Review, Peregrine, Oddball Magazine, Zig Zag Lit Mag, Gyroscope Review, Wilderness House Literary Review, The New Verse News, Soul-Lit and elsewhere. She has a poem soon to be published in the Inquisitive Eater, a journal of The New School.