NARROW IS THE WAY (photo) & THE GREY (tanka dream series) by Roswila

THE GREY

we start off on a
journey through what will prove
to be a warren
of underground rooms
and long white-walled halls

my male companion,
a small quick-witted man
from India,
leads us in his search for
what I do not know

I’m not even sure
he knows himself but I trust
he will on finding it,
while I just enjoy the trip
and the folk we meet on the way

two women behind
a desk busy themselves even
as they chat with us
writing fan postcards to
a famous woman singer

in a cul de sac
we find sweet mourning for
a child who’d just died
we express our regrets
and turn around quietly

my companion moves
ahead of me in his pursuit --
I hear him calling
excitedly “Look what I’ve found!”
I hurry to his side

he holds a very
young grey kitten, quite large
in size, but so young
it doesn’t have ears yet
and its eyes aren’t open

he hands it to me --
this silent grey kitten the size
of a full grown cat
holds its heavy head high,
I see white fur at its throat

my companion, leaving
already, announces we can
take it back with us
but I’m concerned it’s mother
will follow us and make a fuss

that is, if it has
a mother anymore – I look
around for a nest
but find none among the
office shelves and furniture

still holding its head high
the kitten warms my palms and chest
what should I do


[ten tanka capped by a dreamku on a dream of 7-3-12. Photo “Narrow Is The Way” 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 understand or interpret 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.

For more in-depth exploration:

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

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‘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 OPENING TO THE LIGHT.