POEM WRITTEN IN A DREAM (With An Old Drawing)

no balance here,
but a forging
in fire and water:
a battle
of balancing

This post is a total self-indulgence, in the sense that my editor self says the poem especially is not all that good. However, an old part of me stepped to the fore in my dreams last night and she wants to be seen and heard. So, here she is.

I did this drawing in December of 1992, when I was (yet again) losing a great deal of weight. I have been a fantasy fan since my teen years and when I did this drawing I was envisioning a costume I would be proud to wear soon. (It never came to pass, either staying that slim or the costume.) The sword seemed the most important aspect of it. I used the Ace of Swords in The Thoth Tarot as inspiration:



but obviously didn't do a very good job. I can't imagine how anyone could actually hold, much less fight with that sword in my drawing. :-)

Then last night I had a series of dreams in which there were many struggles and fights. The last dream I had ended with images of The Ace of Swords (no particular deck) and in that dream I composed the above little poem.

When I awoke I immediately associated the "forging in fire and water" in the little poem to the traditional Temperance card in The Tarot (Rider/ Waite/ Smith version below):



as that is one of its many meanings -- the way blacksmiths temper swords. Further supporting this association: in one of the preceding dreams was a woman named Iris whom I was struggling to relate to -- those are irises in the lower right. (I should also add that Temperance is one of my "family" of cards in The Tarot -- determined by numerology -- and as such, is said to be a further evolution of The Hierophant, my basic numerological card.)

All of this raised the idea of a warrior woman, and I recalled the drawing above.

So there you have it, the genesis of this post. I'm delighted to have this strong, determined spirit in the foreground again, stepping into the New Year with me.

* * * *

‘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.

TAROT READING FOR NENA (A Poem)

Photo from Snow Crystals

Nena was a dear friend. I just heard of her death. It was not unexpected as she'd been ill for a while. At the time I wrote the poem below (14 years ago) she was 72 years young. We eventually had only occasional phone and mail contact, she living upstate and my arthritic knees no longer permitting me to make the bus trip to visit. But she was always in my heart and prayers. I post this poem in her memory and to offer a blessing for her further journey, but mostly to express my gratitude for her friendship.

The editor in my mind wants to say how this poem does not fully jell or "work." But my heart loves the closing image. It captures my experience of her and I want to share it with you.

I sent Nena a box of "The Twelve Teas of Christmas" for the holidays. I am told she never knew it, as she was hospitalized just before it arrived. It is going to be shared to accompany the pot luck dinner at her memorial gathering. Fare thee well, dear friend....

TAROT READING FOR NENA

I am swept more quickly than usual
into the magic space the Tarot opens upon.

Her Swiss accent, energy and bright cheeks
enchant me, as any lingering concern
about the quality of reading
I can offer is banished.

The treasures of her son's family
and husband's Native American heritage,
her knowledge of astrology and herbs,
her deep connection to the Spirit in nature,
all open before me like surprise gifts
as we travel with the Tarot as our guide.

And we voyage on, her humor, strength
and independence, and the youth that radiates
from this elfin Elder as she continues
to learn about life, all delight and enrich me.

At the end of our journey, she hugs me.

I feel blessed, deeply and gently,
by the touch of fierce white wings.

(written June 1993; slightly revised January 2007)

* * * *

‘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.

HAIKU: Response to One Deep Breath's Prompt of 1/1/07

too much sugar
the night before
New Year's hangover

The prompt was to write a New Year's 'ku. You can visit One Deep Breath to read the full prompt and enjoy others' responses.

My hangover is due to my tendency to low blood sugar. And, of course, the worst thing one can do with that tendency is to eat a lot of refined sugar. It plummets blood sugar like a stone and can give one an horrendous "sugar-low" headache, the kind that leaves me wishing I could just cut my poor head off. (It's also why I haven't drunk alcohol in years; it, too, plummets blood sugar.) Well, at least I really enjoyed my ice cream and M&Ms binge last night. LOL!

Happy New Year and Blessings to All.

* * * *

‘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.

ALL DAILY DREAMKU POSTED IN DECEMBER 2006

Journal Cover Collage by Patricia Kelly 2006

The collaged cover above is not on one of my dreamku journals, but on a regular, "catch-all" journal, that does include some dream work though. As I've mentioned elsewhere on this blog, I can't help pasting up pictures anywhere I find a clear, flat surface. :-) Thank the Deities for refrigerator magnets!

Many of this month's dreamkus have to do with people relationships. Not surprising this time of year with all the holiday celebrations. There are a few set in hospitals and/or about illness, and then this one: psyche or soma/the breath rushes/from my lungs. I think these were, at least at one level, referencing my Uncle's illness and death due to "complications from emphysema" in mid-October. We were estranged so I did not even hear of his death until the last week in December, by when I had already had the dreams and posted the dreamlus about them that I now see as referencing him. Yes, I know, I know, 20/20 hindsight. In any event, I had loved him very much as a child and he had a profound effect on me. When I learned of his death, I lit a candle in his memory and asked that our souls work out what we were not able to during his lifetime.

I also note more color in these than is usual for my dreams. I tend to understand color in dreams and a love of color in waking life as generally indicating emotionality. I'd say that's been more than usually true this month. Both for the worse and for the better, both waking and sleeping. :-D (Specific colors can each have a variety of specific "meanings" in dreams. Click here for Robert Hoss's guidelines on color in dreams.)

ALL DAILY DREAM HAIKU POSTED IN DECEMBER 2006


December 1, 2006

suitors line up:
a nice guy, a youngster,
the sad vampire



December 2, 2006

dark museum
she gives her enemy
a silver platter



December 3, 2006

we trade stories
of old lovers
truth abandoned



December 4, 2006

she tumbles
through the stars
desertion



December 5, 2006

the old woman smooths
her green and orange dress
waiting room



December 6, 2006

relief
the medics catch
his raging father



December 7, 2006

hospital visit
she requests a religious
consultation



December 8, 2006

cottage retreat
the ancient snake-bear
snaps at me



December 9, 2006

cartoon clown –
she yearns to edit
real people



December 10, 2006

I fit inside
my own breast pocket
laundry day



December 11, 2006

ancient Roman feast
she rubs lion oil on her
legs to seduce



December 12, 2006

they try to teach her
to toss a football
get a grip



December 13, 2006

through the cascade
I see her walk away
dark echos



December 14, 2006

last ditch effort
I catch the falling
infant boy



December 15, 2006

wavering:
underwater exit
tunnel of air



December 16, 2006

psyche or soma
the breath rushes
from my lungs



December 17, 2006

a man on the brink
I float slowly along
under the bridge



December 18, 2006

I thread extension cords
throughout the walls
worn down



December 19, 2006

it’s a crime
Superman and Lois
break out of jail



December 20, 2006

coins on the
belly dancer’s skirt jingle
dream costume



December 21, 2006

we sail into
a massive harbor
the unknown looms



December 22, 2006

a backward woman
in a dark cave
group myth



December 23, 2006

blessing in disguise
she can now spend time
tending her garden



December 24, 2006

anger and love
feel the same in her body
the heart’s choice



December 25, 2006

lavender wool
wound around didjeridus
loom of the gods



December 26, 2006

the robot
does the laundry...
I wish!



December 27, 2006

worlds tumbled
new ones built and forgotten
broken sleep



December 28, 2006

book cover
the bright colored Crone
has many eyes



December 29, 2006

he ferries me on
a blue-green pallet
precocious child



December 30, 2006

she walks alone
into the rainy night
red satin gown



December 31, 2006

unfinished
she accepts the half-glass
of golden liqueur

* * * *

These dream haiku were rarely written or dreamed on the dates on which they were posted; an occasional one is even years old. I simply go through my handwritten dream haiku notebooks for one that grabs my attention and that’s the one that gets posted on that day. Of course, whatever is going on in my life clearly influences my choice of dream haiku for any particular day’s post. So in that respect these daily dream haiku do act like an on-going dream diary.

If you would like a decent overview of what the haiku form is about click here for “The Isn’ts of Haiku”, or see the sidebar.

* * * *

‘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.