ALONG THE WAY (photo) & TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA (dream tanka series) by Roswila

TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA

the young male intern
checks all the preemies carefully
a baker’s dozen
they lie squirming together
each in their own white blanket

astoundingly born
to the same mother they’d been
abandoned where birthed,
a heavily thicketed
roadside embankment

the intern’s sympathy
for the run away mother
rises with his fear:
how can he possibly meet
such a welter of needs


[three tanka on a dream of 10-19-12. FYI, the title means “fear of the number thirteen.” Like yesterday’s dream/ku this is chock full. Touching on just a wee bit of it all, I see echos of my “objective” life right now, but also identify with those 13 preemies. I had one interesting thought re: the male being an intern. Not only is he just one in a large staff of others who provide care, but he’s still learning. He was not at all aware of this in the dream and felt totally responsible for caring for all 13 infants. But I need to remember I am not in the same position (with my own needs or anyone else’s), and his being an intern clued me in to that. There’s also the number thirteen’s association with death, even though in the dream imagery it’s aligned with birth. Photo “Along 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 TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.