TAKING IT ON THE CHIN (photo) & SURVIVING (dream tanka series) by Roswila

SURVIVING

the conquerors don’t
let the indigenes keep their
own art-defined culture,
all evidence of it
is sought out and confiscated

the first people stand
heart broken as their homes
are thoroughly searched
(thoughtlessly, relentlessly)
for bootleg paintings and books

cautious whispers spread
among the mourning natives
that their art survives
hidden deep under cover
where no one would suspect,

and not even an
easing of this awful ban
would prompt its outing:
once ripped up by the roots,
forever withheld


[four tanka on a dream of 11-17-12. Photo “Taking It On the Chin” 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....".

* * * *

‘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.