A TIGER PUZZLE (photo) & "the woman whispers..." (non-dream based haiku) by Roswila

the woman whispers
he rides her dancing tiger
into my heart


[This haiku is not dream-based, though the experience of developing it was dream-like. I was recently given a set of “Haikubes,” 63 dice with words on the sides. The instructions say to toss out all of them, then choose words from the up-sides with which to construct three lines of 5-7-5 syllables. As always, I had to try it my own way and just chose 17 cubes at random and looked at all four sides, figuring that would give me plenty of choices. Was I wrong! Not only did I wind up having to toss all the cubes, but looking at all their sides, too. The word “tiger,” though, was in that first batch of only 17 cubes and is the mental image that set me on the scent of a dream, imaginatively speaking. What’s also dream-like is the twist to the image. In Hindu mythology it’s the many-armed, fierce female Goddess Durga who’s often depicted riding a tiger. I knew this, but also “knew” this odd little haiku was going someplace else entirely. And, yes, that last line is one syllable short. Poetic license. I did initially have a descriptive one-syllable word for "heart," but it made the haiku way too busy. IMAGE: one of the many puzzles a fellow resident has assembled in our community room. As Tiger is one of my power animals I particularly liked this one and took a photo of it before it got broken down and put back in its box. Hm, puzzles (except for the rare one that someone might fix and frame) are much like dreams. They’re only complete and fully recognizable for a flash in time.]

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:

-- very brief comparison of dreamku and haiku: DREAMKU ARE NOT HAIKU

-- 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 short 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.