BUBBLING TO THE SURFACE (photo) & THE LONG SWIM (dream tanka series) by Roswila

THE LONG SWIM

the wide deep lake holds
the sun in every ripple
made by a swimmer
or the occasional small
outboard motorboat

I find myself
tredding water at its center
and catching my breath,
my ultimate goal the shore
shining yet a long swim away

as if by magic
and without even a wish
I find a platform
floating in the water:
small, white, square, and stable

I clamber onto it
like some old seal seeking
a restful sunning –
from my perch I can see other
squares spread out on the lake

what thoughtful design –
to have these rest stops salted
around the wide lake
for such as I who over-
estimate our endurance


[five tanka on a dream of 10-8-12. Wish fulfillment? Encouragement? Maybe even prediction? I’ll take any or all of those. What just came to mind as I typed that sentence is something folks have said to me on occasion (and I to myself): “Give yourself a break!” Photo “Bubbling to the Surface” 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.