EARTH DANCE (photo) & A NIGHT OF BACK TO BACK REHEARSALS (free verse, dream based poem) by Roswila

A NIGHT OF BACK TO BACK REHEARSALS


First Act Run-Through

she sings her solo for the first time without
a prompter in the wings

"old man river, that old man river, he must know
somethin' but don't say nothin' ...
you and me we sweat and strain, body all achin'
and wracked with pain... tote that barge, lift that bale,
get a little drunk and yah lands in ja-..."

(she interjects sotto voce "oy, this next note does me in")

"-ail" ending neatly on that famous low note

it's odd for a woman to sing this song even in her
best alto with a solid hit on that deep note splitting
a single syllable into two

yet the set decoration for this song seems even
more strange: human size glass bottles punctuate
the evening wharf scenery, each a different curving
shape and translucent color, the last bottle slim
straight and swirling with deep shades
of iridescent sea blue

"... but old man river he just keeps rollin' along..."


Second Act Run-Through

my goodness what can't this young newscaster do:
now they have her ballet dancing!

her silver lamé jump suit catches the stage lights
like moonlight, her movement sinuous and
confident yet she doesn't complete any of a series
of en pointe spins with the usual leap, but rather
a graceful winding of arms and legs

then I realize she's at least three months
pregnant, honoring both babe and dance
with her grounded choreographic changes

she finishes her solo on the old oak stage
with a rising flourish of unfurling limbs,

Pythia's urgent answer to the moon


[free verse poem on two dreams of 8-29-13. It's been some time since I've mentioned this in comments to my posts, so it probably bears repeating. I come from a show business family (grandparents in Vaudeville, father a singer, etc.) so theatre imagery in my dreams has more layers even than most dream images. And I took ballet as a child and loved it, 'til my early teens when other factors led to my giving it up. I also used to buy season tickets to the ballet, back decades ago, and read a great deal about it. So ballet, too, is a jam packed dream image. This was one of those dreams, too, in which I "actually" sang; i.e. felt in the dream as if I were really singing. Though I have to admit I did not "sing" the lyric excerpts in the order above (which follows how they are written). But jumped about a bit in the dream, trying to recall the words or emphasizing a phrase. I did try writing the fragmented lyrics in the order I remember singing them. However, it was just a "massa confusa." Omigosh! I just recalled as I typed here that Jung says the term "massa confusa" of alchemy corresponds to a chaotic state of mind. Well, no kidding! Photo "Earth Dance" (7-20-10) by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, monoku, free verse, etc. -- 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 dream poem is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. It 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 (the specific forms of dreamku, tanka, two-liners and monoku) you may do here, that in the beginning I stressed "showing, not telling." However, this 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). This pretty much applies to free verse dream poems as well.

For more in-depth exploration of the dreamku forms specifically (and one post in which I also address my photo choices):

-- 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 connections & other blogs: Charter Member of the United Haiku and Tanka Society (UHTS); ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.