MINE FIELD (photo) & HOUSE CLEANING (dreamku series) by Roswila

HOUSE CLEANING

a fuss draws my eye:
a long time friend wrestles
among the branches of
the big tree that grows in her room
I figure she's house cleaning

in a way she is:
a huge red and white serpent
keeps attacking her
I've never seen her engage
in such concerted battle

before I'm able
to enter and help, she escapes
to the wide hallway
the yards-long serpent
slithering after her

under the skylight
the serpent's true colors show:
a yellowish gray
as sickly looking as its
presence makes me feel

I motion for my
friend to duck so I can beam
a mental symbol
at it's head: a pentacle
of light will stop it dead

but the serpent hides
behind my friend each time
I send the symbol:
it seems forever that we three
play this duck and cover

then, bingo! a hit!
it's almost audible when
a pentacle lands
the serpent deflates, lifeless
on the sunny hallway floor

I'd known all along this is a battle of minds
but even so one still must find a clear shot


[tanka series capped by a two-liner on a dream of 6-6-13. FYI, the pentacle (five pointed star in a circle) is an earth symbol (as in the suit of pentacles in The Tarot deck) and considered by some to be powerfully protective. Photo "Mine Field" 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.