A TOUCH OF THE BLUES (photo) & THE EVOLUTION OF MEMORY (dreamku series) by Roswila

THE EVOLUTION OF MEMORY

a set of matching
symbolic dishes suddenly
appears in the air:
these empty molded clay plates
and cups bear meaning just the same

then another set
manifests, a complete copy
for the backup files,
though colored an ocean blue
and somewhat less welcoming

yet this second group
carries in its twinning the
same significance ...
or does it? just feel the comfort
of the earthy clay shapes,

fingers almost sing
on rounding their edges, but
touch is not invited
by the blue dishes as they hang
in the air fraught with mystery

every copy introduces a change,
each passing second a new iota


[four tanka capped by a two-liner on a dream of 5-22-13. Photo "A Touch of the Blues" by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- are offered in the spirit of collaboration. I have done my part. Now it’s your turn to jump in and see what comes up for you. I.e., there is no right or wrong way to relate to any of these dream offerings. Even my own understandings of them change over time. And it gives me joy when a reader sees something in any of them that I have not.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

You may also note in any further reading on dreamku you may do, that in the beginning I stressed "showing, not telling." However, that has been changing for some time now. I now tend to "show" (the dream narrative) and cap if off with a "tell" (some reaction and/or insight I've had to the dream as I was writing about it).

For more in-depth exploration:

-- very brief comparison of dreamku and haiku: DREAMKU ARE NOT HAIKU

-- a brief post about both dreamku and my photos THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING DIGITAL PHOTOS.

-- detailed three-part post about dreamku: "A DREAMKU PRIMER: Writing Haiku-Like Poems About Your Night Dreams": PART ONE: Introduction & Writing Dreamku as Dream Work; PART TWO: Elements of the Haiku Form Used in Dreamku; and PART THREE: How to Write Dreamku (the second and third parts have some overlap).

-- a short up-dating post about the three-part "A DREAMKU PRIMER" -- Important Up-date to A DREAMKU PRIMER....".

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,






If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”). Roswila's other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

NEAR & FAR (photo collage) & ON COUGARS & CAGES (dreamku series) by Roswila

ON COUGARS & CAGES

the cougars escape:
one by one each breaks through
its prison wall --
these cages disguised as homes
cannot contain their wildness

I catch a fleeing
female by her strong hind legs
stopping further flight --
she struggles to get free
but neither bites nor scratches

her new home appears
near us as she writhes in my grip:
quite long and narrow,
it curves at a stretch section
of clear fuchsia plastic

the rest of its walls
ashine with rigid chrome on
artfully designed
purple struts and panels,
nary a doorway in sight

a thought sinks me: no matter how brightly colored,
modern, or flexible a cage remains a cage


[four tanka capped by a two-liner on a dream of 5-21-13. Photo "Near & Far" by Roswila; an early effort of mine at greeting card design; all photos in it were taken on the grounds of the retirement community in which I live]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- are offered in the spirit of collaboration. I have done my part. Now it’s your turn to jump in and see what comes up for you. I.e., there is no right or wrong way to relate to any of these dream offerings. Even my own understandings of them change over time. And it gives me joy when a reader sees something in any of them that I have not.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

You may also note in any further reading on dreamku you may do, that in the beginning I stressed "showing, not telling." However, that has been changing for some time now. I now tend to "show" (the dream narrative) and cap if off with a "tell" (some reaction and/or insight I've had to the dream as I was writing about it).

For more in-depth exploration:

-- very brief comparison of dreamku and haiku: DREAMKU ARE NOT HAIKU

-- a brief post about both dreamku and my photos THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING DIGITAL PHOTOS.

-- detailed three-part post about dreamku: "A DREAMKU PRIMER: Writing Haiku-Like Poems About Your Night Dreams": PART ONE: Introduction & Writing Dreamku as Dream Work; PART TWO: Elements of the Haiku Form Used in Dreamku; and PART THREE: How to Write Dreamku (the second and third parts have some overlap).

-- a short up-dating post about the three-part "A DREAMKU PRIMER" -- Important Up-date to A DREAMKU PRIMER....".

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,






If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”). Roswila's other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

MOONFALL (photo) & THE RIDE (dream tanka trio) by Roswila

THE RIDE

she confronts me
very hotly and I take
responsibility,
not fully, but either she
doesn't know or doesn't care

what's her investment
in not noting my subtle
back pedaling
after the crash, then so coolly
adjusting her own position

sigh, her denial's
not the point, no matter it
saves face for us both,
not when I'm riding for a fall,
the full moon stuffed in my mouth


[three tanka on a dream of 5-20-13. Photo "Moonfall" by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- are offered in the spirit of collaboration. I have done my part. Now it’s your turn to jump in and see what comes up for you. I.e., there is no right or wrong way to relate to any of these dream offerings. Even my own understandings of them change over time. And it gives me joy when a reader sees something in any of them that I have not.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

For more in-depth exploration:

-- very brief comparison of dreamku and haiku: DREAMKU ARE NOT HAIKU

-- a brief post about both dreamku and my photos THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING DIGITAL PHOTOS.

-- detailed three-part post about dreamku: "A DREAMKU PRIMER: Writing Haiku-Like Poems About Your Night Dreams": PART ONE: Introduction & Writing Dreamku as Dream Work; PART TWO: Elements of the Haiku Form Used in Dreamku; and PART THREE: How to Write Dreamku (the second and third parts have some overlap).

-- a short up-dating post about the three-part "A DREAMKU PRIMER" -- Important Up-date to A DREAMKU PRIMER....".

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,






If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”). Roswila's other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

STUDY IN BLACK & WHITE (photo) & THIS WOBBLY STANDOFF (dream tanka trio) by Roswila

THIS WOBBLY STANDOFF

a dark finger points
from the right at a slightly
upward angle
a pasty white finger points
slanting up from the left

the dark digit seems
strident, the light one weak
and whispery
they touch at their tips forming
a steeply inverted V

this wobbly standoff
this Leaning Tower of Pisa
begins to tumble,
taken down by the weight
of its pointless pointing


[three tanka on a dream of 5-20-13. Photo "Study in Black & White" by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- are offered in the spirit of collaboration. I have done my part. Now it’s your turn to jump in and see what comes up for you. I.e., there is no right or wrong way to relate to any of these dream offerings. Even my own understandings of them change over time. And it gives me joy when a reader sees something in any of them that I have not.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

For more in-depth exploration:

-- very brief comparison of dreamku and haiku: DREAMKU ARE NOT HAIKU

-- a brief post about both dreamku and my photos THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING DIGITAL PHOTOS.

-- detailed three-part post about dreamku: "A DREAMKU PRIMER: Writing Haiku-Like Poems About Your Night Dreams": PART ONE: Introduction & Writing Dreamku as Dream Work; PART TWO: Elements of the Haiku Form Used in Dreamku; and PART THREE: How to Write Dreamku (the second and third parts have some overlap).

-- a short up-dating post about the three-part "A DREAMKU PRIMER" -- Important Up-date to A DREAMKU PRIMER....".

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,






If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”). Roswila's other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

STUDY IN BLUES (photo) & THEY CLAIM (trio of dream tanka) by Roswila

THEY CLAIM

they claim that years back
her mom slept with one eye open
to protect her child
but I know otherwise:
that open eye was painted on

not only a fake
but the wrong color: it should
have been brown not blue
but the error went unnoticed
just like the flaking paint

while everyone glued
their own eyes elsewhere, relieved
of any concern
for her little daughter by
that pseudo sentinel eye


[three tanka on a dream of 5-19-13. Photo "Study in Blues" by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- are offered in the spirit of collaboration. I have done my part. Now it’s your turn to jump in and see what comes up for you. I.e., there is no right or wrong way to relate to any of these dream offerings. Even my own understandings of them change over time. And it gives me joy when a reader sees something in any of them that I have not.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

For more in-depth exploration:

-- very brief comparison of dreamku and haiku: DREAMKU ARE NOT HAIKU

-- a brief post about both dreamku and my photos THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING DIGITAL PHOTOS.

-- detailed three-part post about dreamku: "A DREAMKU PRIMER: Writing Haiku-Like Poems About Your Night Dreams": PART ONE: Introduction & Writing Dreamku as Dream Work; PART TWO: Elements of the Haiku Form Used in Dreamku; and PART THREE: How to Write Dreamku (the second and third parts have some overlap).

-- a short up-dating post about the three-part "A DREAMKU PRIMER" -- Important Up-date to A DREAMKU PRIMER....".

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,






If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”). Roswila's other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

GUARDIAN DRAGON (photo) & AT THE GARAGE SALE (dreamku series) by Roswila

AT THE GARAGE SALE

sigh, mashed again
this time by an erstwhile friend
however no sweat
he backs off readily
when I ask for more space

but he won’t muzzle
his pushy opinions:
I’m intensely drawn
to a music tape for sale
on a table of odds and ends

its title “The Heart
of Darkness” in murky
black calligraphy
obstructs a moody photo
of a climbing koala bear

(I recall that koala's may harbor
bad tempers and suppress a wry laugh)

the erstwhile friend tells
me to wait until the end
of the day, the tape
will certainly still be here
and the price marked way down

he may well be right
but there’s something to be said
for the here and now
and now I want to buy this tape
(no matter it’s murky aspect,

no matter no one else might want
to rise like a vine on its dark music)


[a mix of tanka and two-liners on a dream of 5-16-13. Phew! My first post with my new computer system. So much yet to learn about getting it all set up for ease of use (like where to find the function to increase the on screen font size -- my poor old eyes). And working between differing programs and the internet (which I do constantly when making a post) is just enough different now to raise shades of this koala's temper. And finding my photos? Ack! I expected all of these issues, but expectation is different from experience, yes? I know this will all pass and habit happily settle in again. I just wanted to vent a little bit. By the way I dreamed the above before setting up my new computer system (with the endlessly appreciated help of a friend), so it's addressing other issues. Photo “Guardian Dragon” by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- are offered in the spirit of collaboration. I have done my part. Now it’s your turn to jump in and see what comes up for you. I.e., there is no right or wrong way to relate to any of these dream offerings. Even my own understandings of them change over time. And it gives me joy when a reader sees something in any of them that I have not.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

For more in-depth exploration:

-- very brief comparison of dreamku and haiku: DREAMKU ARE NOT HAIKU

-- a brief post about both dreamku and my photos THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING DIGITAL PHOTOS.

-- detailed three-part post about dreamku: "A DREAMKU PRIMER: Writing Haiku-Like Poems About Your Night Dreams": PART ONE: Introduction & Writing Dreamku as Dream Work; PART TWO: Elements of the Haiku Form Used in Dreamku; and PART THREE: How to Write Dreamku (the second and third parts have some overlap).

-- a short up-dating post about the three-part "A DREAMKU PRIMER" -- Important Up-date to A DREAMKU PRIMER....".

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,






If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”). Roswila's other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

AT THE FAIRE (photo) & A STORY FROM THE MIDDLE AGES (dream tanka series) by Roswila

A STORY FROM THE MIDDLE AGES

a bomb’s been planted
in the medieval fairground
then again maybe
it’s just a threat and fear
is the outcome sought

this large gathering
of artisans and trade folk
closes down quickly –
one young couple’s dismantled
their display to wait out the threat:

she packs up her wares
anxiously watching for the return
of her caring mate,
who’s bringing his cousin from
the far country to stay here

a poor time she thinks
for his cousin to make such a
major transition:
to move from the Hot Study,
the time of wandering

into Cool Study,
the time of moving up or down
in only one place
and that place here with a bomb
threat shadowing their backs

but the night air’s sweet
like her husband’s kisses
and her packing’s done –
leave the unknown to hover
what way it will – it’s always there


[six tanka on a dream of 5-16-13. Photo “At the Faire” by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- are offered in the spirit of collaboration. I have done my part. Now it’s your turn to jump in and see what comes up for you. I.e., there is no right or wrong way to relate to any of these dream offerings. Even my own understandings of them change over time. And it gives me joy when a reader sees something in any of them that I have not.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

For more in-depth exploration:

-- very brief comparison of dreamku and haiku: DREAMKU ARE NOT HAIKU

-- a brief post about both dreamku and my photos THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING DIGITAL PHOTOS.

-- detailed three-part post about dreamku: "A DREAMKU PRIMER: Writing Haiku-Like Poems About Your Night Dreams": PART ONE: Introduction & Writing Dreamku as Dream Work; PART TWO: Elements of the Haiku Form Used in Dreamku; and PART THREE: How to Write Dreamku (the second and third parts have some overlap).

-- a short up-dating post about the three-part "A DREAMKU PRIMER" -- Important Up-date to A DREAMKU PRIMER....".

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,






If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”). Roswila's other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

THE MAGICKING (photo) & THE RING (dream tanka, two-liner, monoku) by Roswila

THE RING

you don’t have to kill
her! just shoot the ring off her
imperious hand
she’ll transform into her true
self again, no more the tyrant

though solid gold and glittering with gemstones
that magic ring promises only more darkness

it's like shooting fish in a barrel now breathe


[a tanka, two-liner, and monoku on a dream of 5-15-13. Photo “The Magicking” by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- are offered in the spirit of collaboration. I have done my part. Now it’s your turn to jump in and see what comes up for you. I.e., there is no right or wrong way to relate to any of these dream offerings. Even my own understandings of them change over time. And it gives me joy when a reader sees something in any of them that I have not.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

For more in-depth exploration:

-- very brief comparison of dreamku and haiku: DREAMKU ARE NOT HAIKU

-- a brief post about both dreamku and my photos THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING DIGITAL PHOTOS.

-- detailed three-part post about dreamku: "A DREAMKU PRIMER: Writing Haiku-Like Poems About Your Night Dreams": PART ONE: Introduction & Writing Dreamku as Dream Work; PART TWO: Elements of the Haiku Form Used in Dreamku; and PART THREE: How to Write Dreamku (the second and third parts have some overlap).

-- a short up-dating post about the three-part "A DREAMKU PRIMER" -- Important Up-date to A DREAMKU PRIMER....".

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,






If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”). Roswila's other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

HIDING FROM NEPTUNE (photo) & AND WHEN (dream tanka capped by two-liner) by Roswila

AND WHEN

they all stand wearing
only their clean white skivvies
she resists the urge
to cover her flushed bared breasts
as everyone seems so at ease

and why of all guys is he here (sigh)
and when will she stop buying into shame


[a tanka and two-liner on a dream of 5-14-13. Photo “Hiding from Neptune” by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- are offered in the spirit of collaboration. I have done my part. Now it’s your turn to jump in and see what comes up for you. I.e., there is no right or wrong way to relate to any of these dream offerings. Even my own understandings of them change over time. And it gives me joy when a reader sees something in any of them that I have not.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

For more in-depth exploration:

-- very brief comparison of dreamku and haiku: DREAMKU ARE NOT HAIKU

-- a brief post about both dreamku and my photos THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING DIGITAL PHOTOS.

-- detailed three-part post about dreamku: "A DREAMKU PRIMER: Writing Haiku-Like Poems About Your Night Dreams": PART ONE: Introduction & Writing Dreamku as Dream Work; PART TWO: Elements of the Haiku Form Used in Dreamku; and PART THREE: How to Write Dreamku (the second and third parts have some overlap).

-- a short up-dating post about the three-part "A DREAMKU PRIMER" -- Important Up-date to A DREAMKU PRIMER....".

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,






If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”). Roswila's other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

SHAPE SHIFTER (photo) & NESTING DOLLS (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

NESTING DOLLS

each splitting open
of a nesting doll reveals
an equally colorful face
and form, and as hollow
and thickly varnished
if also more diminished

but hope still rises
for the last and smallest
to part its sides like a tiny
walnut, holding the yearned
for seed, the mythic beginning,
the key to the endless puzzle

will this last doll cup the feast
of an answer or can the long
sought after only be known
by its shaping absence


[free verse poem, on a dream of 5-12-13. Photo “Shape Shifter” by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- are offered in the spirit of collaboration. I have done my part. Now it’s your turn to jump in and see what comes up for you. I.e., there is no right or wrong way to relate to any of these dream offerings. Even my own understandings of them change over time. And it gives me joy when a reader sees something in any of them that I have not.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

For more in-depth exploration:

-- very brief comparison of dreamku and haiku: DREAMKU ARE NOT HAIKU

-- a brief post about both dreamku and my photos THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING DIGITAL PHOTOS.

-- detailed three-part post about dreamku: "A DREAMKU PRIMER: Writing Haiku-Like Poems About Your Night Dreams": PART ONE: Introduction & Writing Dreamku as Dream Work; PART TWO: Elements of the Haiku Form Used in Dreamku; and PART THREE: How to Write Dreamku (the second and third parts have some overlap).

-- a short up-dating post about the three-part "A DREAMKU PRIMER" -- Important Up-date to A DREAMKU PRIMER....".

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,






If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”). Roswila's other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

NEITHER BLACK NOR WHITE (photo) & LONG AGO (dreamku series) by Roswila

LONG AGO

inexplicably
the collage I’ve finished bears
black and white photos,
and only black and white,
when my penchant’s for color

the style in which
I’ve cut, arranged, and pasted
all these pictures, though,
proves way too familiar
if neat and somewhat artful

a friend leans in close
warming my shoulder as she
peruses its spread
I point out each curve and shadow
from which my father’s face peers

here he is smiling
looking right at the viewer
and here he avoids
connection staring into space
while here he’s just unaware

“And this one,” she asks,
it’s really your father?
He appears so young…”
yes, that photo’s from long
ago, as is each capture

a snap shot freezing
what changed only seconds later,
trailing the deceit
of memory and falling prey to
this colorless mummification

I’ve heard it said that on first exposure
a native tribe feared photos steal souls


[six tanka and a two-liner on a dream of 5-12-13. It seems odd to dream of my father on Mother’s Day. However, I did wake up singing that Beatle’s song “Your Mother Should Know.” The connection might have been “long ago” as expressed in the title and fifth tanka. One of the lines of the song’s spare, repetitive lyrics is “your mother was born a long, long time ago.” Photo “Neither Black Nor White” by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- are offered in the spirit of collaboration. I have done my part. Now it’s your turn to jump in and see what comes up for you. I.e., there is no right or wrong way to relate to any of these dream offerings. Even my own understandings of them change over time. And it gives me joy when a reader sees something in any of them that I have not.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

For more in-depth exploration:

-- very brief comparison of dreamku and haiku: DREAMKU ARE NOT HAIKU

-- a brief post about both dreamku and my photos THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING DIGITAL PHOTOS.

-- detailed three-part post about dreamku: "A DREAMKU PRIMER: Writing Haiku-Like Poems About Your Night Dreams": PART ONE: Introduction & Writing Dreamku as Dream Work; PART TWO: Elements of the Haiku Form Used in Dreamku; and PART THREE: How to Write Dreamku (the second and third parts have some overlap).

-- a short up-dating post about the three-part "A DREAMKU PRIMER" -- Important Up-date to A DREAMKU PRIMER....".

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,






If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”). Roswila's other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

HOT SLIDE INTO SUMMER (photo) & THE NEWEST WRINKLE (dream tanka & two-liner) by Roswila

THE NEWEST WRINKLE

the black and silver
steam iron is ultra-modern
heat waves roll off its
extended sleek curvature:
she’s gone dancing and left it on!

I fumble with its strange controls afraid I’ll get burned
she’s chic and wrinkle free but without a care for safety


[a dream tanka topped by a two-liner on a dream of 5-8-13. Wish I had a more suiting dreamku to post but nevertheless I wish loving mothers of every kind and generation a Happy Mother’s Day! Photo “Hot Slide Into Summer” by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- are offered in the spirit of collaboration. I have done my part. Now it’s your turn to jump in and see what comes up for you. I.e., there is no right or wrong way to relate to any of these dream offerings. Even my own understandings of them change over time. And it gives me joy when a reader sees something in any of them that I have not.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

For more in-depth exploration:

-- very brief comparison of dreamku and haiku: DREAMKU ARE NOT HAIKU

-- a brief post about both dreamku and my photos THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING DIGITAL PHOTOS.

-- detailed three-part post about dreamku: "A DREAMKU PRIMER: Writing Haiku-Like Poems About Your Night Dreams": PART ONE: Introduction & Writing Dreamku as Dream Work; PART TWO: Elements of the Haiku Form Used in Dreamku; and PART THREE: How to Write Dreamku (the second and third parts have some overlap).

-- a short up-dating post about the three-part "A DREAMKU PRIMER" -- Important Up-date to A DREAMKU PRIMER....".

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,






If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”). Roswila's other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

COME INTO MY PARLOR (photo) & THE SPELUNKER (dream tanka series) by Roswila

THE SPELUNKER

we carry her eggs
to the lab, though it’s doubtful
that we can save them –
we slip them in a petri dish
and put on the clear cover

the mother cries out
from a corner where she’s been
watching and waiting –
before our eyes she rapidly
morphs into a huge spider

her black legs so long
they bring her head way above
the formica table –
“Don’t shut the door” she commands,
“it’ll scare the plants,” so we don’t

as the baskets of
hanging spider plants relax
she checks on her eggs
“Pick them up, dish and all,
and follow me out” she orders

in the hallway a
dark filing cabinet hulks –
she stands before it
and looking toward her dish of
eggs begins morphing again

still mama spider
but now as thin as a sheet
of inky paper,
she proclaims her intent to
slip into the file cabinet

“You see,” she says
“few problems are as big as
they appear to be
and it’s a rare solution
that’s not been filed away”

like a spelunker
she slides into the deep
crevice of a folder –
somehow we know she’ll surface
having snared a way to save her eggs


[tanka series on a dream of 5-11-13. That visual pun of the spider plants made me giggle. However, I did not think of the name of the plants in the actual dream; I just saw them. Naming the plants in the dreamku deflates the fun of the sudden punning connection I felt on recalling the name of the plants while drafting the dreamku. (The same often happens when explaining a joke or an imagistic poem.) But what is one to do? Writing more of a set up to the pun would still be explaining the joke. ‘tis a challenge I may never find a way to handle in dreamku writing. And it’s more common in my dreams than I tend to reference here. I also think I miss a lot of the puns in dreams. Some of the connections may very well be finer than spider webs and snap at the first motions of wakefulness. BTW, the spider here is for me (among other things) a concrete image of the type of computer program called a spider or web crawler. Another visual pun I only got during the writing. Photo “Come Into My Parlor” by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- are offered in the spirit of collaboration. I have done my part. Now it’s your turn to jump in and see what comes up for you. I.e., there is no right or wrong way to relate to any of these dream offerings. Even my own understandings of them change over time. And it gives me joy when a reader sees something in any of them that I have not.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

For more in-depth exploration:

-- very brief comparison of dreamku and haiku: DREAMKU ARE NOT HAIKU

-- a brief post about both dreamku and my photos THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING DIGITAL PHOTOS.

-- detailed three-part post about dreamku: "A DREAMKU PRIMER: Writing Haiku-Like Poems About Your Night Dreams": PART ONE: Introduction & Writing Dreamku as Dream Work; PART TWO: Elements of the Haiku Form Used in Dreamku; and PART THREE: How to Write Dreamku (the second and third parts have some overlap).

-- a short up-dating post about the three-part "A DREAMKU PRIMER" -- Important Up-date to A DREAMKU PRIMER....".

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,






If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”). Roswila's other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

TERNION (photo) & A ROMANCE IN THREE ACTS (dream tanka series) by Roswila

A ROMANCE IN THREE ACTS

Act I

it’s almost as if
I were babysitting Brad
for Angelina
while she’s off with all the kids
shopping and running errands

Brad’s as beautiful
live as on screen and vaguely
flirtatious with me
I enjoy it but know he won’t
follow through nor should he

then I’m star struck again
when Angelina returns
stunning in a new
black and white maternity dress
trailing kids like a mama duck

her jealousy over
Brad pricks my pride, though
it’s almost surreal
he’s so obviously smitten
and deeply committed to her


Act II

to get to their car
we have to climb a steep rise
everyone winds up
crawling, even strangers
headed back to their rides

I’m relieved that for
once I’m not the only one
having this trouble
a strange man hugs me when he
senses this feeling in me

I wait for the big
“Bazinga!” but none’s coming
he’s quite serious
and a mutual attraction
rises surely between us


Act III

Angelina just
won’t let it go and starts
backbiting me
her stage whispers to Brad
stinging me in a hot swarm

though silence now would
surely be golden, I let loose
in a tarnished torrent,
defensive explanations
making my cheeks flush red

their surprise at my
last barrage cools the air:
“And furthermore, if
you absolutely must know, I’m
dating that sweet fool on the hill”**


[ten tanka on a dream of 5-8-13. * “Bazinga!” used like “gotcha” after a joke (I’m revealing my fondness here for the T.V. comedy “The Big Bang Theory” -- one of the main characters uses bazinga). ** A definite reference to the Beatles song “The Fool on the Hill,” as I woke from this dream singing it. And just in case: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are probably best known as movie actors committed (married?) to each other, with a passel of kids. A note on the writing: Someone once asked how I choose the ultimate shape of a dreamku/series. I don't. It evolves as I draft it. However, in the case of those that I break into parts with headings, the dream pretty much demands it (in this case, three acts). That is, there's no clear progression between the dream parts that I can recall. It's almost as if a curtain went down and then came back up on another part of the same dream. Occasionally, I consciously write in a connection to keep the dreamku/series flowing as one piece. But only if it immediately suggests itself to me in the initial drafting. Otherwise, I wind up separating it into distinct sections, as with this dream. Photo “Ternion” by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- are offered in the spirit of collaboration. I have done my part. Now it’s your turn to jump in and see what comes up for you. I.e., there is no right or wrong way to relate to any of these dream offerings. Even my own understandings of them change over time. And it gives me joy when a reader sees something in any of them that I have not.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

For more in-depth exploration:

-- very brief comparison of dreamku and haiku: DREAMKU ARE NOT HAIKU

-- a brief post about both dreamku and my photos THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING DIGITAL PHOTOS.

-- detailed three-part post about dreamku: "A DREAMKU PRIMER: Writing Haiku-Like Poems About Your Night Dreams": PART ONE: Introduction & Writing Dreamku as Dream Work; PART TWO: Elements of the Haiku Form Used in Dreamku; and PART THREE: How to Write Dreamku (the second and third parts have some overlap).

-- a short up-dating post about the three-part "A DREAMKU PRIMER" -- Important Up-date to A DREAMKU PRIMER....".

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,






If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”). Roswila's other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.