LOOKING AHEAD (photo) & ON BENDING (dreamku series) by Roswila

ON BENDING

my father and I
amble together down
a narrow sidewalk
lush green trees lean so close above
that I must bend forward to progress

Dad offers his arm
to help me keep my balance
we adjust our strides

I whisper against his shoulder: this must be what
happens when nothing dies and everything grows


[a tanka, dreamku, and two-liner on a dream of 1-4-13 (my 69th birthday). Just that my father shows up in a dream is always quite welcome. Especially as I’m still somewhat amazed I’d managed many years ago to heal my relationship to him after his death. But also to have his support in my struggle now with issues of pride and humiliation was quite a birthday gift. Put simply in terms of the dream imagery: pride as in being unbending, and humiliation as in “I could have just died!” By the way, those words after the colon in the last two lines are quoted from the dream. Photo “Looking Ahead” 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.