THE VISIT (photo) & PROGRAM BETA TEST (dreamku) by Roswila

PROGRAM BETA TEST

Disk 1

Mother’s preparing
a new recipe for dinner
in the kitchen
Dad’s been helping me move
into the large attic room

I like my new digs
the only real work left to do?
hang the large paintings
I’ve stacked artfully against
one high windowed wall

all three are portraits
of women – I think they look like
Asian empresses


Disk 2

it’s way past time for
Dad to pick up my sister
I rush to meet her
she’s waiting by her car
in the parking lot

“My breasts need pumping”
she announces immediately
my worry rises
then she adds, as if this is
the last she’ll say about it:

“It’s awful when folk
in a cemetery gathering
haven’t got a clue” …
it’s also awful, I think, when one
can only guess at the truth

whether or not to
risk pushing her for answers
becomes a moot point,
I see Dad in the distance
waving as he rushes toward us


[dreamku series in two parts on a dream of 5-11-12. Photo “The Visit” by Roswila]

PLEASE NOTE that I never have nor do I now lay claim to having been the first to suggest writing about our dreams in the haiku form. In fact, the haijin (Haiku Masters of centuries ago) sometimes wrote haiku on dreams. But even more importantly, what I have been developing for several years now on this blog is not even truly haiku or tanka or monoku. The ways in which I have been using and experimenting with these forms makes the results more akin to kissing cousins of these small Eastern poetry forms. Therefore, I mostly use the term "dreamku" to distinguish what I do from those traditional forms. Click here for a more in-depth INTRODUCTION than follows below, including links to my THREE PART PRIMER on the basic (most haiku-like) dreamku form.

Also, the photo accompanying a daily dream poem or non-dream based poem is not necessarily meant to illustrate it, but to reflect some small, even slant aspect of the verse -- similar to Japanese haiga (illustrated haiku). I've also recently realized that although the dreamku (i.e. dream based poems) posted here tend not to have metaphor or simile, the accompanying photos almost always act as such.

To write a metaphor or simile into a dream scenario is something I rarely do. It can be confusing: did it really look like a hand, say, in the dream, or am I just being poetic to make my conscious point? As these dreamku act as a dream journal, my over-riding tendency is to try to stay close to the actual dream scenario itself. Admittedly making for a tendency to less "poetic" dreamku. Then why pay attention to any haiku, tanka, or monoku parameters at all when writing about my dreams? Because I find in even attempting to adhere to them I'm making choices that relieve my dream recall of a great deal of chatter so that I can get down to some important dream aspects. Here's a link to THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING PHOTOS in which I go into some of the basic parameters for dreamku and the photos chosen to go with them (and with any non-dream based poems I post here, as well).

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 in the sidebar.

* * * *

‘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 ****

BURNT SIENNA (photo) & NORMAL (dreamku) by Roswila

NORMAL

there's no way further
up the staircase in this old
apartment house
the stairs just end though I can
see another floor to go

no way even to
clamber from this railing
onto the one above
as I've done before in dreams
this time I'm simply stuck

querying a young
guy behind me nets nothing
he clearly doesn't
understand my question
it all seems normal to him


[three tanka on a dream of 11-17-11. Another of those dreams with a brief flash of lucidity (knowing one is dreaming while dreaming). The image of climbing stairs and having difficulty making it to the next level is a recurring dream image of mine. That last image of asking for help and not being understood is unusual as I’m always alone in this sort of dream. However, it is not unusual in my waking life not to be understood when seeking help (and at other times). Hm, maybe the point of this twist to the usual recurrent dream is pointing out there’s challenges we can only take on alone. Then there’s the implication that this frustrating pass is normal; life is often tough and lonely. Photo "Burnt Sienna" by Roswila; I sometimes dream in sepia -- another term for burnt sienna.]

PLEASE NOTE that I never have nor do I now lay claim to having been the first to suggest writing about our dreams in the haiku form. In fact, the haijin (Haiku Masters of centuries ago) sometimes wrote haiku on dreams. But even more importantly, what I have been developing for several years now on this blog is not even truly haiku or tanka or monoku. The ways in which I have been using and experimenting with these forms makes the results more akin to kissing cousins of these small Eastern poetry forms. Therefore, I mostly use the term "dreamku" to distinguish what I do from those traditional forms. Click here for a more in-depth INTRODUCTION than follows below, including links to my THREE PART PRIMER on the basic (most haiku-like) dreamku form.

Also, the photo accompanying a daily dream poem or non-dream based poem is not necessarily meant to illustrate it, but to reflect some small, even slant aspect of the verse -- similar to Japanese haiga (illustrated haiku). I've also recently realized that although the dreamku (i.e. dream based poems) posted here tend not to have metaphor or simile, the accompanying photos almost always act as such.

To write a metaphor or simile into a dream scenario is something I rarely do. It can be confusing: did it really look like a hand, say, in the dream, or am I just being poetic to make my conscious point? As these dreamku act as a dream journal, my over-riding tendency is to try to stay close to the actual dream scenario itself. Admittedly making for a tendency to less "poetic" dreamku. Then why pay attention to any haiku, tanka, or monoku parameters at all when writing about my dreams? Because I find in even attempting to adhere to them I'm making choices that relieve my dream recall of a great deal of chatter so that I can get down to some important dream aspects. Here's a link to THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING PHOTOS in which I go into some of the basic parameters for dreamku and the photos chosen to go with them (and with any non-dream based poems I post here, as well).

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 in the sidebar.

* * * *

‘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 ****

HOUSEPLANTS, TOO... (Haiga) by Roswila

The above is a haiga. A haiku on an image that in some way complements or contrasts to the haiku, though does not necessarily literally illustrate it. The Japanese haiga of centuries ago were brush paintings/drawings, with a haiku on it in kanji [Japanese writing; I gather the term kanji reflects its origins in Chinese characters, or "Han"]. In my opinion, the fluidity of Japanese brush writing on a haiga makes a lovely visual complement to a brush image without even being able to read the haiku. This has led me to consider for some time trying my hand at calligraphy again. I used to do it, decades back, and it would take time to develop the skill again. (If I actually could; age is ever-so-slightly beginning to affect my digital steadiness at times.) Hand done calligraphy would look so much better on any photo haiga I develop than any of the fonts in my computer program. I had also been holding this haiku aside with the thought of making a pen and ink sketch for it. But then I stumbled across this several months old photo and its mood immediately brought the haiku to mind. This is a "regular" haiku, by the way -- not dream-based. It came right out of a waking life experience one night, while sitting by my living room window. Photo & haiku by Roswila.

PLEASE NOTE that I never have nor do I now lay claim to having been the first to suggest writing about our dreams in the haiku form. In fact, the haijin (Haiku Masters of centuries ago) sometimes wrote haiku on dreams. But even more importantly, what I have been developing for several years now on this blog is not even truly haiku or tanka or monoku. The ways in which I have been using and experimenting with these forms makes the results more akin to kissing cousins of these small Eastern poetry forms. Therefore, I mostly use the term "dreamku" to distinguish what I do from those traditional forms. Click here for a more in-depth INTRODUCTION than follows below, including links to my THREE PART PRIMER on the basic (most haiku-like) dreamku form.

Also, the photo accompanying a daily dream poem or non-dream based poem is not necessarily meant to illustrate it, but to reflect some small, even slant aspect of the verse -- similar to Japanese haiga (illustrated haiku). I've also recently realized that although the dreamku (i.e. dream based poems) posted here tend not to have metaphor or simile, the accompanying photos almost always act as such.

To write a metaphor or simile into a dream scenario is something I rarely do. It can be confusing: did it really look like a hand, say, in the dream, or am I just being poetic to make my conscious point? As these dreamku act as a dream journal, my over-riding tendency is to try to stay close to the actual dream scenario itself. Admittedly making for a tendency to less "poetic" dreamku. Then why pay attention to any haiku, tanka, or monoku parameters at all when writing about my dreams? Because I find in even attempting to adhere to them I'm making choices that relieve my dream recall of a great deal of chatter so that I can get down to some important dream aspects. Here's a link to THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING PHOTOS in which I go into some of the basic parameters for dreamku and the photos chosen to go with them (and with any non-dream based poems I post here, as well).

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 in the sidebar.

* * * *

‘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 ****

FUZZY LOGIC (photo) & OF LOTS AND LIMITS (dreamku) by Roswila

OF LOTS AND LIMITS

empty city lot
she chases the mechanical
bee-like tiny boy

his dark face stands out
his wings barely noticeable
he’s her punching bag
and she pummels him again and
again as he hangs in the air

she realizes
it’s a heavy slugging she’s
laying on and asks
if he’s had enough of her
fist in his small fuzzy face

yes he sighs even toy boy bees have their limits


[a dreamku, two tanka, and a monoku on a dream of 5-4-12. Don't ask me! I'm just the dreamer. :-) I've been puzzling over this dream for two days now and still haven't much of a clue. The pummeling didn't have any real "punch" to it (if you'll pardon the awful pun). And the only real emotion in the dream was that bit of compassion for the toy boy bee at the end. I also had an association on waking to an actual photo of mine of a bee and it's shadow over a rose. Of course, "shadow" carries on with the theme of my previous post and may very well be the key to this dream, especially as I remembered that bee photo. OK, something's popping. It's too much to explain here, but bees also have special meaning to me (I associate them to blessings and by extension the sacred or spiritual). So, it's a stretch but stick with me, am I dealing more and more with the shadow side of spirituality? It is after all light that casts shadows. Hm, something to think more about. P.S. of May 7, 2012 -- After more frustrated cogitating, I gave up. Then as often happens with this sort of thing, not much later I had an "Ah HAH!" realization. At the most immediate level this dream was pointing out my issues in an actual relationship. Which also, of course, exist in most of my other relationships as well, including with myself. Photo "Fuzzy Logic" by Roswila]

PLEASE NOTE that I never have nor do I now lay claim to having been the first to suggest writing about our dreams in the haiku form. In fact, the haijin (Haiku Masters of centuries ago) sometimes wrote haiku on dreams. But even more importantly, what I have been developing for several years now on this blog is not even truly haiku or tanka or monoku. The ways in which I have been using and experimenting with these forms makes the results more akin to kissing cousins of these small Eastern poetry forms. Therefore, I mostly use the term "dreamku" to distinguish what I do from those traditional forms. Click here for a more in-depth INTRODUCTION than follows below, including links to my THREE PART PRIMER on the basic (most haiku-like) dreamku form.

Also, the photo accompanying a daily dream poem or non-dream based poem is not necessarily meant to illustrate it, but to reflect some small, even slant aspect of the verse -- similar to Japanese haiga (illustrated haiku). I've also recently realized that although the dreamku (i.e. dream based poems) posted here tend not to have metaphor or simile, the accompanying photos almost always act as such.

To write a metaphor or simile into a dream scenario is something I rarely do. It can be confusing: did it really look like a hand, say, in the dream, or am I just being poetic to make my conscious point? As these dreamku act as a dream journal, my over-riding tendency is to try to stay close to the actual dream scenario itself. Admittedly making for a tendency to less "poetic" dreamku. Then why pay attention to any haiku, tanka, or monoku parameters at all when writing about my dreams? Because I find in even attempting to adhere to them I'm making choices that relieve my dream recall of a great deal of chatter so that I can get down to some important dream aspects. Here's a link to THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING PHOTOS in which I go into some of the basic parameters for dreamku and the photos chosen to go with them (and with any non-dream based poems I post here, as well).

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 in the sidebar.

* * * *

‘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 ****