RAVELING ON (photo) & A FRAGILE MOMENT (dreamku series) by Roswila

A FRAGILE MOMENT

groups of women and
men complete questionnaires
for the focus group
a marketing department
needs to know what ads will work

company execs
hang the watercolor painting
results in the air,
the women’s outstrip the men’s
in creativity and craft

I feel brief pride that
once again women are better,
but it's a fake out
in a bigger game of age-
old beliefs and illusions

each painting begins
to shine for just what it is:
a fragile moment


[three tanka capped by a dreamku on a dream of 12-14-12. I'm not sure it's clear enough in the dreamku, but the feeling in the dream of it all being illusory applied equally to the execs and the entire field of advertising. Very briefly put, I've been doing a lot of thinking recently about how the beliefs we have are based in stories we tell ourselves. Photo “Raveling On” 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.

Further, haiku afficianado and translator David Gerard said in a recent post: “One of the most important aspects of haiku is that much is left ambiguous, unspoken, undefined. Ludmila Balabanova writes, ‘Haiku isn't a perception shared by the author, but an invitation to the reader to achieve his own enlightenment.’” To that I add that the same might be said of all the dreamku, and dream-based tanka, two-liners, and monoku on this blog.

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.

BY THE FIRE'S GLOW (photo) & GETTING HOSED (dreamku series) by Roswila

GETTING HOSED

silhouetted against
a road's distant lights:
a man in a hat --
he sneaks up through the bushes
by the window she looks out

he quickly tosses
a bit of flame at the dry leaves
and is gone before she's
even fully formed her thoughts
around this danger

her new friend, he'll know!
she remembers the green hose --
yelling out to her
compadre for his sage advice
she makes a mad dash out back

not waiting for him
to show up she grabs the hose
is it long enough?

snaked across the grass
the hose pulls tight but holds
as water gushes ...
oy! her new friend's opened
the windows wide from inside

her amateur aim
immediately douses
the flaming bushes
along with the cottage's
carefully chosen furnishings

so? what's a little
water damage -- the cottage still
stands whole in the night


[old dreamku series on a dream of 12-7-11. No viable dream recall last night. Just fragments about tiny people dancing for a YouTube video, and an accidental object lesson on how to make papier mache. I’ve never been sure about this one from my draft folder, neither the dream nor the writing. But it caught my eye, given the hose image in the dreamku ("All Wet") posted here on December 11th. Both dream/kus have the idea of emotional intensity at their core, if from different situations/sources and with different (pardon the pun) aims. Photo "By the Fire's Glow" 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.

Further, haiku afficianado and translator David Gerard said in a recent post: “One of the most important aspects of haiku is that much is left ambiguous, unspoken, undefined. Ludmila Balabanova writes, ‘Haiku isn't a perception shared by the author, but an invitation to the reader to achieve his own enlightenment.’” To that I add that the same might be said of all the dreamku, and dream-based tanka, two-liners, and monoku on this blog.

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.

TAKING OFF (photo) & MISSING SOMETHING (dreamku series) by Roswila

MISSING SOMETHING

the New York city
office building’s like a
brightly lit cavern
I’m no more than cordial with
co-workers and like the distance

I’m surprised then when
a woman approaches me
for personal help
she wants me to draft a letter
in fact, almost orders me to

curiosity
buttons my lip’ s caustic reply
so I hear her out:
she’s going to be moving
to Santa Monica next year

she wants me to draft
a letter to go to both friends
and companies there,
indicating her hope of welcome
and of employment

I suppose I should
be flattered she recognizes
my writing skills
but I just feel put upon, yet
am I missing something here?


[four tanka with a capping two-liner on a dream of 12-11-12. Photo “Taking Off” 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.

Further, haiku afficianado and translator David Gerard said in a recent post: “One of the most important aspects of haiku is that much is left ambiguous, unspoken, undefined. Ludmila Balabanova writes, ‘Haiku isn't a perception shared by the author, but an invitation to the reader to achieve his own enlightenment.’” To that I add that the same might be said of all the dreamku, and dream-based tanka, two-liners, and monoku on this blog.

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.

OLLY OLLY OXEN FREE (photo) & ALL WET (dreamku series) by Roswila

ALL WET

I use a clear long
hose to water the hedges
lining her bedroom –
the dry leaves now less apparent
among the bright shiny green

out of the dripping
hedges pads a soaking wet
small white kitten
omigosh, I hadn’t known
the poor thing was in there

I’m amazed that it’s
not hissing or flailing about,
that I can even
pick it up to comfort and
dry it, all its claws sheathed

soaked and outed in
one fell swoop – such surprising
grace under fire


[three tanka and a dreamku on a dream of 12-09-12. Clue: the title “all wet” does refer to the wetting images in the dream, but those images are double entendres. For me they are also visual puns on the expression “all wet” as in saying that someone is wrong. Another clue: that little kitten demonstrates a better way to react. There’s a lot more in this dream (those hedges growing in the bedroom, e.g.) but too much to go into here. Photo “Olly Olly Oxen Free” 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.

Further, haiku afficianado and translator David Gerard said in a recent post: “One of the most important aspects of haiku is that much is left ambiguous, unspoken, undefined. Ludmila Balabanova writes, ‘Haiku isn't a perception shared by the author, but an invitation to the reader to achieve his own enlightenment.’” To that I add that the same might be said of all the dreamku, and dream-based tanka, two-liners, and monoku on this blog.

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.

WHAT'S A GIRL TO DO? (photo) & WATER, REDUX (dreamku series) by Roswila

WATER REDUX

the archeologist
digs up two canoe-sized and shaped
dark turquoise objects –
first he empties them, then he
puts them on the dry lake bed

water starts flooding
the lake bed and house in which
I stand and look out –
I tell the others with me that
we’d best get out or we’ll drown

none of us really
believes the water will rise
that high or fast
besides, I want time to put
clothes on over my nakedness

but the water floods
rapidly to the ceiling
what should I do now?
break a window? that’s too
extreme and it’s not my house

propriety, always propriety
and all that shame roiling beneath


[four tanka and a capping two-liner on a dream of 12-9-12. Photo “What’s A Girl To Do?” 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.

Further, haiku afficianado and translator David Gerard said in a recent post: “One of the most important aspects of haiku is that much is left ambiguous, unspoken, undefined. Ludmila Balabanova writes, ‘Haiku isn't a perception shared by the author, but an invitation to the reader to achieve his own enlightenment.’” To that I add that the same might be said of all the dreamku, and dream-based tanka, two-liners, and monoku on this blog.

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.

BREAKTHROUGH (photo) & HOLY HALLELUJAH (dreamku series) by Roswila

HOLY HALLELUJAH

Holy Hallelujah!
how will I ever find my
friends in this crowd
I sit on the City Hall steps
and watch our protest march disperse

ah, there they are, just
a couple of brick steps up
to the rear of me
why aren’t they aware I'm here?
I listen in on their talk

our newest friend,
an energetic young gal,
totally hooks them
with her passionate preaching
about the invasion to come

she emphasizes that
squatting down and shooting straight
is the only way
we’ll be able to repel
the army of space aliens

I’m vaguely hurt that
they still don’t see me at all
and leave them there
I wander the streets noting
the fractious diversity

muggers and militia,
attention grabbers and
those who skirt edges,
wiley hawkers and impulse buyers --
we’re our own invading force

that beautiful old song rises in me
“It’s a broken and a Holy Hallelujah” *


[six tanka with a capping two-liner on a dream of 12-8-12. * That song at the end was Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” However, I mis-dreamed that last line; it’s actually “it’s a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah.” For me that holy aspect has always been implied in the song; the joyous holy that comes through when we are able to fully embrace life’s many losses and contradictions. The riverbed may have been carved from sadness and pain but it can flood with joy. Hm, that image doesn’t really express the experience when I have it. It’s more like an all embracing radiance that comes through my brokenness. It was this that I felt ever so briefly at the end of that dream and which I think kept trying to recover throughout the night. I found myself singing snatches of the song in other dreams that I now do not recall, and whenever I woke. P.S. I believe this dream was initially about psychological projection and especially owning my own (“we’re our own invading force”). But it morphed into something much more encompassing at the end. Photo “Breakthrough” 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.

Further, haiku afficianado and translator David Gerard said in a recent post: “One of the most important aspects of haiku is that much is left ambiguous, unspoken, undefined. Ludmila Balabanova writes, ‘Haiku isn't a perception shared by the author, but an invitation to the reader to achieve his own enlightenment.’” To that I add that the same might be said of all the dreamku, and dream-based tanka, two-liners, and monoku on this blog.

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.