LATE ROSE (photo) & ON PARENTING (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

ON PARENTING

we three relax on a ledge rimming
the second story of the ocean view
bungalow: a mother, her tiny
barely year-old blonde girl, and I

it's an odd place and rather late
in the afternoon to picnic but that does
seem to be what we are doing
on this sunny late summer day

the little girl tells us her father (whom we
know just passed away under unknown
circumstances) came to her last night
in a dream

we think this is wonderful and smile
encouraging her to continue sharing
but she becomes upset, looking to
her mother and whispering "Don't
let him come back..."

as much as this disturbs me to hear
from her I'm also grateful she can be
so honest with us

she clearly needs reassurance and
a hug (why isn't her mother doing anything
but sitting there with lightly knitted
brows and musing?)

the little girl and I have only just met so
I hesitate to touch her but reach out anyway
and ever so briefly stroke her arm

just then an infant boy rolls onto the scene
he's only a large head (yes, no body,
nothing remarkable, really!) with dark
hair and eyes, and almost bounces
with unrestrained ebullience

holy hannah! he could roll right off this
narrow ledge and where the blazes
are his parents, I think, putting a hand
out to stop his impending plummet

as I reach, his father peers over the ledge
from beneath a baseball cap smiling
sheepishly and quickly picking up
his endlessly energetic baby

the sun's setting flings bright spears
of light through the palms along the beach
and between the crowd of cottages
maybe that's why tears come to my eyes


[free verse poem on a dream of 8-30-13. This is one of mine that I fear will be viewed as unpoetic, i.e. not "really" poetry. And as I've mentioned here before (1) the dream itself is metaphorical and (2) there are such creatures as prose poems and narrative poems. Actually, I think many of my dream poems (both free verse and dreamku format) might also be referred to as narrative poems. I've had a similar on-going discussion with myself on my photography blog. It seems that what to call something, what to label it, becomes almost more important than the thing itself. As if by my calling my writing here poems when by many people's lights they may not be, somehow makes them unworthy then of consideration or contemplation for just whatever it is they are. I'm hearing that famous quote of Gertrude Stein's "A rose is a rose is a rose." I've read she's saying "that simply using the name of a thing already invokes the imagery and emotions associated with it." I'd agree. It's a poetic device I use often, hoping it will resonate for readers. But we get caught in a very sticky wicket when we assume we all agree with just what qualities in the name (in our time, in our society) are lived out in the thing. I'd much prefer to understand her saying that no matter what a thing's name, it still is what it is. Which I've read is the usual misunderstanding of that quote. So be it. Misunderstanding seems to be the thing here (pun intended). Photo "Late Rose" 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....".

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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 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.