WISH BONES (A Poem)

from the Mary El Tarot

This old poem of mine won an award in a recent poetry contest run by 50+LifeStyles, a newspaper for those of us over 50, covering Long Island, New York, USA. It also appears on Poetry Soul to Soul.

Wish Bones

When I have mined my memory for its last poem
will my past collapse in on itself
like an old mine shaft and gratefully
give up its ghosts

or will the sum of ancient years
lie shining in the sun of consciousness
like a bird's bones picked clean by scavengers

and might I firmly grasp the breastbone
that once sheltered a wounded heart,
then, pulling on that arched rib
finally make the break?

And, what then?
Will my wish come true
once my past is dust?

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,

Roswila
[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 blog: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL.

BREAK/FAST (A Dream-Based Poem)

[Awakening (Judgment) card in The Gaian Tarot by Joanna Powell Colbert]

BREAK/FAST

We stand outside in the gloom
watching as birdseed cascades
from the broken window feeder
"But we have to fix it," I say,
"Or we'll have flocks
of wild birds gathering"
"Exactly," he says, an elfin grin
on his golden face
I spin around to look toward the east,
my hungry spirit
lofting with the sun

* * * *

I'm not sure when I wrote this poem, but it has to be close to 20 years old. I know I was living in my current home because at the time of the dream I had been considering setting up a bird feeder on the terrace. Hm. I just remembered that a roommate who moved in some time after the dream did start feeding the birds from our terrace. :-)

Resource: World Dream Bank: Poetry.

‘til next time, keep dreaming,

Roswila
[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 blog: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL.

A THIRD ATTEMPT AT HAIGA

This appears on One Deep Breath, in the Yugen (Mystery) Haiga Prompt of the week of October 23, 2006.

I made the below drawing almost 30 years ago on a hike in the New England woods. I just wrote the accompanying haiku today when I finally set up my scanner and realized I could be using some of my drawings here for haiga. The quality of the scans I post here will hopefully improve as I learn to use the scanner. I.e., the below is a little fuzzy compared to the original.

I can still remember the moment when I saw those patterns on the two tree trunks right next to each other. They were compelling. I used to have that sort of response to things I'd see, which is what would "drive" me to make sketches, to try to get it down. Pretty much the same sort of urge hits when I feel a poem coming on. In both cases -- drawing or writing -- my challenge is always to keep it simple and direct. Which is largely why I like trying to write haiku, and now trying to work with haiga. Less "room" to fuss. Though I do note that the details on the bark in the above drawing gave me plenty of opportunity to fuss. :-)

* * * *

Resource: Haiga at RaysWeb.

‘til next time, keep dreaming,

Roswila
[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 blog: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL.