DAWN (photo) & DAWNING (three dream tanka) by Roswila

DAWNING

she eats the golden
apple slowly, savoring
each juicy chew,
the sun warming the castle
ramparts through the morning chill

with her last swallow
she clearly sees silhouetted
against the pale dawn
the rising head and torso
of a samurai warrior

katana sword handles
peek above each shoulder
from their crossed sheaths
balanced on his back – is he
this ancient castle’s protector?


[three tanka on a dream of 9-14-12. OK, sixth night with a food dream, this one the most intriguing to me. It seems to me that with a "run" like this, the more metaphorical meanings one might find in "food" are less important. I.e., my dreams are emphasizing a need to take these food images very seriously as relating to my dietary changes. Even the truck load of meaningful associations I have lead back to food. One being to the Rider/Waite/Smith Tarot deck card, The Two of Swords (see below), which is sometimes called “the mini-Justice card” and can be (very simply and selectively put for the purposes of this post) about mental balance:

Eating well has everything to do with my mental and emotional balance. Lastly, this dream is the most positive of the six night's food dreams and helps me keep going through what has become a very rough patch (vastly increased arthritis pain). Photo “Dawn” 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.

POPPED HOOD (photo) & A YELLOW PAIR (a tanka & a dreamku series) by Roswila

A YELLOW PAIR

I

a wall of water
rises slowly and surely
from the ocean waves
it pours overland as crowds
flee rapidly before it

they all seem to be
children, ragged rushing kids
some tripping as they
look over their bony shoulders
then getting up to run again

then an organized
group of small school girls
practically parades
away from the tumbling wall
of unstoppable water

they appear calm and
walk in step with each other
their pale yellow uniforms
in stark contrast to the other
children’s dark tumult


II

he and I both have
large containers of raw
unshelled eggs
mine winds up auto-cooking
in something perfumey

I really like eggs
but these look more curdled
than properly cooked
he nods yes, and looking down
his nose says “It’s the perfume”

I start dumping out
this messy ugly mixture
he’s already moved on


[four dream tanka and a tanka pair capped by a dreamku on two separate dreams of 9-13-12. Have no idea what the connection may be between these two dreams. I almost always find a night of dreaming has at least a slim thread connecting all its dreams. The only common point here is the color yellow. I “saw” the yellow of those school girl uniforms and of the cooked eggs. That’s a place to start. So I just checked Bob Hoss’s chart in “Working with Color in Dreams” (you can google for the full chart) and the meanings for yellow that may be applicable here are: I need to find a way out of this circumstance or relationship and I need a change. Additionally, there's the usual associations of yellow [roses] with friendship, and with calling someone yellow meaning they're a coward. I also note that a liquid is central to both dreams which certainly indicates strong emotions. Last, this makes the fifth night in a row I’ve had a food dream. Photo “Popped Hood” 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.

IN THE LAND OF CHOCOLATE (photo) & TO THAW OR NOT TO THAW (dreamku series) by Roswila

TO THAW OR NOT TO THAW

how selfish of him!
to leave our freezer door
ajar like this

because he forgot
to thaw his ice cream cake in
time is no excuse,
all of us have food in there
that we don’t want thawed out yet

his deeply frozen
chocolate ice cream cake rests
on the door’s edge
should I move it back, shut the
door, and risk a meltdown with him?

that’s a thaw devoutly to be wished – not!
but our stuff matters, too – I reach to move the cake


[three tanka capped by a two-liner on a dream of 9-12-11. Fourth night in succession with food in it, and the second referencing a fridge (here, the freezer section). Clearly my on-going dietary changes are affecting my dreams. It would be odd if they didn’t since the changes are affecting a great deal in my life. However, as I mentioned here yesterday there are also metaphorical levels to this food and fridge imagery such as emotional nourishment and interpersonal relationships. Photo “In the Land of Chocolate” 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.

CHILLING (photo) & CONFLUENCE (tanka series) by Roswila

CONFLUENCE

conference table
gathering of cohorts – we’re
to taste test cookies,
each pair of us sampling one batch
of chocolate chip delights

the batch my friend and
I get has thick cookies with
lots of chocolate
I comment to my partner
that they’re way too intense

her non-sequitur
between gooey mouths full
“My son’s birthday is
today, a healthy sixty-three”
what a puzzlement

I chew this over
how can he now be so close
to my own age –
the cookie smells have made me
hungry, I open the fridge

the cold white space
is nearly empty – I stand
there singing a song:
“Pick yourself up, dust yourself
off, start all over again”


[five tanka on a dream of 9-11-12. Yeah, an even denser one than usual but I get it. Some background: I’ve been revamping a lot about my life (big and little things) for a couple months, among which is eating better. This is the third night in a row I’ve dreamed about food, food I should either avoid or have very little of. In waking life I’ve begun finding food or the thought of food is not very satisfying in the ways it used to be. While at the same time I’ve been wondering when I’ll food binge again (decades of experience dealing with this makes it if not inevitable, certainly likely). The dream seems to echo both those experiences. But it also brings out the hunger for nourishment in a broader sense, that often lies beneath food bingeing. Missing and wanting a close companion. I really like those song lyrics I woke up singing (from a 1930's movie), and that’s what I’ve been doing and will do as needed. And that I’m faced with a cold empty fridge, well, that has several different sides to it (food, relationships, myself, and a particular childhood dream memory). All of which are helpful to see. Photo “Chilling” 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.

DESCENT (photo) & TURNING POINT (dreamku series) by Roswila

Remembering All Who Died on 9/11 in the New York City Twin Towers Attack, and their families and friends, and with a deep hope that all rescuers and residents of the area during that time are healthy or have access to the best treatments.

* * * * * * * *

TURNING POINT

she’s delighted to
run into him and continue
hiking together,
lightly flirtatious with
an intimate ease

the clock hits the time
he assumes they’ll turn back
it feels as if she’s
breaking some unspoken pact
to say her hike is not over

she starts to explain
that she always goes further
on her walks than this
but she’s already talking
to his broad shouldered back

he’s turned on a dime
she’ll turn around later, cued
by the setting sun


[three tanka and a dreamku on a dream of 9-10-11. Photo “Descent” 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.

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND (photo) & WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? (1 dream tanka each on 4 dreams) by Roswila

WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?


I

a transsexual
moves in with my roommie’s OK
I don’t dislike her/him
but I’m angry I wasn’t
asked if this would be all right


II

somehow I’m aware
my woman friend’s father
means trouble for me
even though I have yet to meet
this purported paragon


III

the married man flirts
outrageously with me in
front of his toddler
she looks just like me when I
was her age, blonde and sweet


IV

why is my long hair
died a dark reddish brown and
how did I get thin?
I don’t like the way this fuchsia
suit clings to my new curves


[four tanka each on fragments from four separate dreams of 9-9-12, in the order in which I recall dreaming them. A note on using "him/her" to reference the transexual: I'm aware once sexual reassignment is complete, a transexual is either male or female. However, in the dream I was not certain whether the transexual was male to female, or female to male. I.e. I was uncertain of the figure's ultimate, current gender. Photo “Blowin’ In the Wind” 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.

RENEWAL (photo) & SORTING IT OUT (dreamku & tanka) by Roswila

SORTING IT OUT

it's encouraging
the man and his dog climb out
of the deep rubble

he seems trustworthy
but the dog appears possessed
and if it is
by what sort of spirit --
dare I take another chance


[a dreamku and a tanka on a dream of 11-5-11. Very little dream recall and even less of that that entices me to write about it. So I’m posting an old, previously unposted dream/ku that follows along in the vein of the new dreamku I posted here yesterday (“Still A Mystery”). I.e., is something that’s re-entering my life trustworthy and/or what it appears to be? Photo “Renewal” by Roswila; for any Star Trek fan reading this, note that I was briefly tempted to name this photo “Beam Me Up, Scotty!”]

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.