NEURAL CRADLE (photo) & RAVENOUS (dreamku series) by Roswila

RAVENOUS

the stars come out,
in both a literal and
figurative sense –
the huge amphitheatre packed
for the night’s talent contest

performance after
performance quickly wings by
on a dark tension
that crosses the chilled air
like a net of zip-lines

then, with no naming
and no warning, the winners
sing out in chorus
their foreign language under-
standable only to them

as their contingent
cheers them raucously
it becomes quite clear:
they were given first place
to subvert their aggression

but what happens when
the earth spins ‘round once more
and the sun rises
on other countries, how will
they feel out of the spotlight

will words of war leave their mouths again
(a collective ego’s always ravenous)


[five tanka and a capping two-liner on a dream of 5-1-13. Although couched in rather hyperbolic images (influenced by current political events) this dream/ku is mostly personal. About my fear of appeasing certain aspects of myself and whether it would accomplish (has ever accomplished) anything. One clue to its being about my own psyche is that “net of zip-lines.” Even while dreaming I saw the resemblance to pictures I’ve seen of a brain’s neural networks. Photo “Neural Cradle” 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.