A MAGIC CARPET RIDE, non-dream based poem by Patricia Kelly (Roswila)
I
Take this ruby beauty hard
peel it, shell it, strip it
of its crystal cage
II
There are rubies in profusion here:
rubies crackling sweetly in the silence beneath words,
rubies in a riot burning briefly underfoot,
maverick rubies melting, then congealing by the stairs,
and hearts of rubies breaching tombs
to breathe in golden air
III
Rubies are in bloom:
rubies which splitting their pods spill slowly out
and nestle by our feet
Patricia Kelly © 1984, © 2011
This was not based on a dream. It was inspired by a vaguely oriental-style carpet with a lot of ruby red color in it that was on the upstairs floor of a restaurant. And the weekly poetry reading (The Scribblers) held there, back in the mid-80s in Manhattan, New York City. I read this poem regularly over subsequent years at that reading and various others I went to around the city. And don't recall it ever being commented on, as some of my other work would be. But it was always a personal favorite. I don't recall what made me think of it after all these years. But now that I've dug it out of my files I find myself wondering if this style of imagistic writing will surface again in my poetry, along with a clear meter (as in the second section). In those years people used to ask if I wrote music. I never have, at least not technically. Over the years I have written some mild melodies (chants actually) in dreams, along with the words to go with them. The photo above is "Welcoming the Rain" by Roswila.
The archives in the sidebar hold years of the daily dreamku, tanka, monoku and photo posts I've made, grouped in one post by month. As I no longer post dreamku (or non-dream based poems) strictly daily, each post will appear below and then in the archives by the day on which it was posted.
There are many other sorts of posts here, not all dream-based. I indicate which are about or influenced by dreams. Some non-dream focused posts are book reviews, "regular" poems (some by other writers than myself), scifaiku, writing exercises, Tarot haiku, photos, haiga, and so on. However, most of those are in much older posts. There's a listing by month going back to early 2006, at the end of the sidebar.
Click here for a more in-depth INTRODUCTION.
‘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; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and OPENING TO THE LIGHT ****