KEEPING THE BEAT (photo) & NIGHT ERRANDS (dreamku series) by Roswila

NIGHT ERRANDS

the man’s created
a ballet for kids to dance
the premier begins
a well lit stage with a floor
of golden oak fills with children

what’s more amazing?
the kids’ soul-aching talent
or the complex steps
sparking back and forth between
two different dimensions

both girls and boys wear
shiny form fitting costumes:
girly pearlescent pink
shines out from one dimension,
boyish pale grey from the other

the girls form a square –
beats later, commingled
but inches aslant,
the boys create their square
as the girls start a new shape

like watching an out of focus movie
their forms outline each other echoing

as the ballet ends
the audience releases a
soft collective sigh
yet some still want to know
what’s the meaning of it all

the choreographer tenders a sad smile
then adds, children runs errands, don’t they?


[four tanka, a two-liner, and another tanka, capped by a two-liner on a dream of 4-12-13. As I recalled what the man said in the last line I remembered a book I’d read reviews about: “Night Errands: How Poets Use Dreams,” by Roderick Townley and which I’ve wanted to get for a long time. Well, just before entering this dreamku on my computer, I finally ordered a used copy. In part, this dream is about making poetry out of dreams. However, it holds a lot more than that, but it’s too much to go into here. Photo “Keeping the Beat” 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:

-- 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....".

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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.