[Image that accompanied dream tanka series of April 9 below]
I’m delighted I have an excuse to use an elephant image to head up this month’s post of dreamku and dream tanka, as I need all the help I can get from dear Ganesh these days. As may be evident from many of the below, my relationship is now over and I am not feeling able to be even friends. What I’m finding a bit surprising is just how hard this sort of “un-bonding” is. I blush to admit that at my age I’ve never gotten so deeply involved, much less then had to end it. I’ve been a support for many a friend in decades past during just such processes, but it’s quite a different experience when going through it myself. However, I do not regret one minute with him, not at all. And I hasten to add that this ending is not the only thing going on. I have a rich life to re-organize, both externally and internally. Sometimes it feels nigh on to impossible or at least undesirable to do all this work, and when that ebb tide turns, I feel excited and re-energized. More and more I try to go at least somewhat gracefully with the tide in either direction.
I’m not sure why I like this next sample dream tanka pair the most of this month’s writing, but it tickles me. Hm.... I’ve not been particularly happy with the writing craft aspect of the vast majority of my dreamku and dream tanka for a few months. So I think I may like this one because I'm fairly content with both the dream content and writing craft levels. Not to mention that the final image is rather a fun one:
BACK AND FORTH
the birds steal back
the bread slices we’ve taken
and plastered up
in the dream I draft a tanka
about this back and forth
we stick fuchsia bread
vertically on a door
it’s quickly announced
that the slices are sliding
as the door begins to thaw
And I found -- still find -- the source dream for this dreamku:
the harridan and
the saintly man of service
I give them the finger
very helpful whenever I notice I'm swinging to one extreme or the other in my judgments or expectations of myself or anyone else. I sort of lightly mentally flip the bird at my judgment or expectation. :-)
ALL DAILY DREAMKU POSTED IN APRIL 2009
April 1, 2009
the boy’s diaper
leaks an endless torrent
the lovely bridesmaid’s veil
of eggshell colored lace
covers her entire body
this large wedding party
freezes in place
photo flash
[dream tanka & a dreamku on one dream]
April 2, 2009
for the show we all
wear glittery white belly
dancing outfits
I gyrate lightly along
as I await my solo
I want to show off
the hip-roll-thrust I’m good at
as I weave around
I hear even small breasts as
on our singer are sexy, too
the singer backs me
while I dance forward into
my solo turn
her Irish accent rises
sweetly through the doumbek’s beat
[three dream tanka on one dream; image: doumbek]
April 3, 2009
the tall black player
and I are to be lovers
this famous hoops star's honesty
and wit disarm
and even further charm me
[dream tanka]
April 4, 2009
the microwave beeps
I wake with the image
of me hugely pregnant
[dreamku]
April 5, 2009
all the one-eyed boy
wants for Christmas: a patch
with a painted eye
[dreamku]
April 6, 2009
she’s hard of hearing
and lost her place in the song
I help her leaf through
thirteen pages of lyrics
but the director cuts her
[dream tanka]
April 7, 2009
BACK AND FORTH
the birds steal back
the bread slices we’ve taken
and plastered up
in the dream I draft a tanka
about this back and forth
we stick fuchsia bread
vertically on a door
it’s quickly announced
that the slices are sliding
as the door begins to thaw
[two dream tanka on one dream]
April 8, 2009
ten strikes in a row
in the water bowling game
instant replay shows
the window behind one player
shattering as he lets go
[dream tanka]
April 9, 2009
[see elephant image at top of page]
ELEPHANT RUN
the couple and I
have long been deeply involved
this time however
when they begin to argue
I spontaneously run
alone on the road
I pick up speed loping
through the tall green woods
amazed my red high-heeled feet
make this joyous flight so well
suddenly barefoot
with sore toes and a light heart
I stop for a rest
at the side of the road
and marvel at what I’ve done
across the way
sitting on the wooded bank
a baby elephant
I’m delighted he’s a fan
poised calmly to support me
[four dream tanka on one dream; the title just popped into my head and when I googled it because it seemed familiar – though I thought it might be because of it’s similarity to the song “Elephant Walk” – I found out it’s also the title for a book about a boy’s life in Burma in early WWII including escape from a Japanese war camp, and adjusting to life in a culture with elephants. Of course, I was quite tickled both in the dream and on recalling it because of my love of the Hindu Deity, Ganesh. Baby elephants show up in my dreams occasionally. I have tended to view them as supporting some beginning steps I’m taking (“baby steps”), as Ganesh is almost always invoked to bless beginnings and new enterprises. But this is the first time this support was explicit within the dream itself. And my identification with the elephant is not lost on me. :-) In this respect, I see that as a metaphor for my, um, shall we say, generously proportioned body, which is indirectly referenced in the dream by my amazement that I could make this run. BTW, these comments are only highlights; there's much more to the dream's import to me.
]
April 10, 2009
IN THE WATERY DARK
in the empty pool
late at night he teaches me
new water sports
I learn fast and play well
in the cold echoing dark
he puts a mask
on my face and plugs my nose
water is forced to
trickle down slowly into
the back of my tense throat
this preparation
for deep diving is endless
anxious agitation
I’ve gone under before
years ago but not this way
can I breathe
and balance the air tank
fear bubbles up
[three dream tanka and a dreamku on one dream; Image: Daily Mandala of 3/15/09, used by permission]
April 11, 2009
I dream crying out
something's wrong! something's wrong!
I wake by his side
[dreamku]
April 12, 2009
running happily
across visitors' backs
odd little dog
their never used car
a homeless young man sneaks in
and camps out
the strange little dog
opens the car door
a squatter's welcome
[dreamku series on one dream]
April 13, 2009
A RADICAL* MOVE
again! those pesky
stretch strings, this time on my hand
pulling and pulling
only lengthens not detaches them
but I keep pulling anyway
the dark green strands get
longer and longer as I yank
and wind them around
the fingers of my right hand
hoping they’ll stretch to breaking
frustration rises
ah! the first time ever in
this sort of pickle
I slip my fingers under
the strings’ roots and pry them right off
new approach joy in the morning
* a root meaning of the word radical is root :-) And it was joyous to wake recalling this dream as that last tanka is not only from the dream, but contains waking memory: those stretchy things are a recurring dream image and this is the first time I tried a different and successful way to pry them off. I guess this might be considered a slightly lucid dream moment as within the dream I recalled waking memories. LOL! Waking memories of dreams in a dream. This does get convoluted, doesn't it?
[three dream tanka & a monoku on one dream]
April 14, 2009
the handsome Cupid
says “You’re a dangerous woman”
his eyes love limpid
I rush after him to learn
what he means and return the love
[dream tanka]
HARBORING
she and I both find
the new man in town handsome
his motorcycle
especially attracts me
and his elfin boyish smile
of the two of us
I’m surprised to find it’s me
he wants to be with
as he helps me to my feet
in order to embrace me
his fingers play with
my long curly dark hair
...ooops I forgot I’m in
another woman’s body
so is it me he desires
my appearance morphs
in my inner vision
and I see I look
exactly as I am:
tall large white-haired plain
although I can’t stop
the theft of videos from
inside his front door
no matter how I yell out,
happiness still stays with me
wanted for who I am safe harbor
[five dream tanka and a monoku on one dream]
April 16, 2009
the bedroom now has
two double beds filling it
a fan beneath one
morning sunlight shining
on the freshly washed white sheets
[dream tanka]
April 17, 2009
he struts around
saying all the signs are up
I can't read them
[dreamku, from April one year ago: I just went through my current dreamku notebook and found lots I'd never posted. So once in a while I'll be posting old ones here, some after what I now see as necessary minor tweaking. However, I will choose those that resonate for me at present. This one eerily echos an interchange in a (waking :-D) conversation I had this morning with someone I had not even met at the time of the dream/ku.
]
April 18, 2009
face off
we take each others' measure
the weather clears
[dreamku, from March one year ago, posted because it echos recent experience]
April 19, 2009
dying woman
she prepares to briefly
be a teenager
[dreamku, 4/17/09]
April 20, 2009
FLIP-SIDES
her large breasts bobble
in the big spaceship cabin
zero-g love making
* * * *
they crawl into
a tiny spaceship cabin
restrained love making
[two dreamku on one dream, 4/19/09]
April 21, 2009
the harridan and
the saintly man of service
I give them the finger
[dreamku on dream of 4/20/09]
April 22, 2009
the coral silk blouse
in the back of my closet
threadbare or slashed
[dreamku on dream of 3/31/09]
April 23, 2009
his new baritone voice
warms me as I’ve wanted
only in a dream
[dreamku on dream of 4/22/09]
April 24, 2009
THE ACCUSED
she keeps pushing me
to incriminate myself
the arrogant young blonde
and shadowy accomplice
persist til my temper blows
I hear a whirring
by the wooden front door
they’re tape recording
my meltdown which prompts me
to escalate it further
hauled before a judge
who seems fair and quite placid
I deny the crime
and offer no defense for
my noisy temper tantrum
the judge clearly sees
my honesty but knows there’s more
to my story
he calls me into chambers
for a private debriefing
maybe this will be
a safe place to tell it all
intuitive judging
[four dream tanka & one dreamku on a dream of 4/5/09]
April 25, 2009
AT HOME
she’s taken four new
roommates since I moved out
I stop my move back
suddenly knowing she’d always
planned to replace me
I put on a black
and silver punk outfit
finally at home
[dream tanka & dreamku on a dream of 4/24/09]
April 26, 2009
EBB TIDE
in the clear beer glass
the liquified garlic
falling and rising
less high on each golden surge
a slowing breath or ebb tide
when fully dried out
will it have any spice left
we’ll see, she says
[dream tanka & dreamku on a dream of 4/25/09]
April 27, 2009
each repetition
still unintelligible
do I want to know
[dreamku on dream of 4/26/09]
April 28, 2009
DINNER DATE
one knee stuck in mud
she struggles to stand again
where are her friends
on her feet at last
the restaurant covered in
bright green ivy vines
[two dreamku on a dream of 4/17/09]
April 29, 2009
they are puzzled by
her ire at being ignored
thick strawberry drink
[dreamku on a dream of 4/25/09]
April 30, 2009
standing before a gate
overgrown with dense green vines
no going back
[old dreamku and dream of 3/14/08; as I've mentioned previously, when I post a really old dreamku I've chosen it because in some way it resonates for me at present]
* * * *
‘til next time, keep dreaming,
**** [aka: Patricia Kelly] **** If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)****My other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL and ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT, and Yahoo DREAMJIN: Group for Dreamku – Haiku-Like Dream Poems ****
