Performed by Val Cole

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Get to know the poem:

1) What is the theme of your poem?

At its core, My Storm in a Bottle is about loving someone who's unpredictable, expressive, human - someone who's been through things and not afraid to be themselves. It explores devotion from a different angle, not lock and key or possessive, but a little zaney in the best kind way. It pays homage in a bluesy jazz cadence and depending on the circumstance it's definitely learned and lived with but with personality.

2) What motivated you to write this poem?

I wanted to write about intimacy but wanted it to feel alive. Something different. It's been a while since I've written like this and wanted to revisit it. I didn't want everything to happen at once or feel predictable. I wanted to write something that's alert, watchful, but doesn't take itself too seriously.

This version came from two rewrites. The first was focused on a house that creaks when the wind blows. The second played with the weather and how it could make the house creak. Somehow, a bottle of Jack Daniels got involved. That sense of drawing lines from the center of the page outward is something one of my favorite art teachers, Becky McRae, encouraged me to experiment with as I mentioned one of our interviews before.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?

I've been writing poetry for quite some time, though the way I write now is totally different than from when I first started. Over time my work has become more intentional. Some of my early pieces, what I sometimes call doodles or quick sketches are still online. I still make mistakes, and I encourage them. Nowadays I tend edit more, a whole lot more. But I'm still learning. Always learning.

4) If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would that be?

I'd love to have dinner with all my little cousins. It's actually been a while since we've all gotten together, and sharing that time would be really cool.

5) What influenced you to submit to have your poetry performed by a professional actor?

I'm fascinated by voices and how they tend to bring out things we might have unintentionally missed or bring attention to things, especially when it comes to ourselves. With My Storm in a Bottle, I read it aloud, but I didn't experience it with the same intensity that a professional actor like Val Cole brings. Hearing her perform it gave it more depth and more clarity. I could visualize everything and it made me smile.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?

Yes. I write short prose and narrative driven pieces, most of my work leans towards storytelling, even when it's poetic. I'm currently working on a new book called Sideshow, which is more than halfway done, and I'm looking forward to releasing it sometime in 2026.

7) What is your passion in life?

Connection - noticing the small moments of how people and experiences touch us.

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POEM:

My Storm in a Bottle

She rises over my house,
like the sun, or the moon.
The stars have tried to tell her,
but she won’t listen.

Just as she rises,
She calls my name like thunder
rolling slow
through every inch of my house.

Even if I am sleep,
I wake up and say
“Baby I love you.”
But that won’t be love
not without her peeking through
my window,
Before she says it back.

I see her eyes looking left, then right.
She don’t mean no harm
the way she pops up out the blue.
Sometimes saying it outright
only makes things worse.
I tell her “lord, ain’t no other woman here.”
Sometimes she grins and smiles.

She rises over my house.
Her smile can make the night
turn to day.

But before she nestles her head
deep in my chest,
she raises it one last time
to see if anything is out of place.

This woman you made, lord.
Half honey, half storm in a bottle.
Roofers don't come out no more
I love her just the same.
My storm in a bottle.