IMPASTO (photo) & THE SANTA BARBARA (dreamku series) by Roswila

 
THE SANTA BARBARA

the old time clipper
ship sets sail from the harbor --
I've boarded hoping
for a peaceful sunset trip
up the curving coastline

the ship's crammed with crew
and passengers -- I start to weave
my way below decks

before I can even
get my legs accustomed
to the pitch and yaw
a fight erupts all around
between two flailing factions

I neither know nor
care what this fight's about
nor will I take part --
more furious people rush down,
met by angry folk coming up

twisting completely
about I head to get elbow
room on the poop deck --
stars begin to peek through
the expansive night sky

this is not my fight
I'll wait it out here -- I only
came along for the ride


[several tanka with two dreamku on a dream of 6-12-13. I live maybe 20 minutes by car from Santa Barbara (in Goleta, which is in the county of Santa Barbara). Don't know if there ever was or is a clipper ship named The Santa Barbara, but that was definitely the name of this dream ship. And I certainly do wish I could opt out of all these inner fights I find myself in recently. In a way, I do each day when I write and post a dreamku, and edit and post my photos. LOL, artistic attempts as my life's poop deck. FYI, the poop deck is a raised portion of the top deck at the rear of a vessel. Who's retreating into her head, trying to get above it all? Photo "Impasto" 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 relate to 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.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

You may also note in any further reading on dreamku you may do, that in the beginning I stressed "showing, not telling." However, that has been changing for some time now. I now tend to "show" (the dream narrative) and cap if off with a "tell" (some reaction and/or insight I've had to the dream as I was writing about it).

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.