RETURN OF THE LIGHT (photo) & FREE TO BE (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

FREE TO BE

a Puritan era mother and her two
daughters hang in a church pillory,
the pews crowded with these roughly
hewn wooden devices in which folk
from all ages of humankind suffer
for their term of public punishment

the mother's brown hand-woven robes
flap wildly when she starts to hit
at the restraining arms of the pillory
holding up both her children
and herself for vilification

with a piercing crack the large
wooden cross bar breaks and with
a tremendous clatter the other two
struts give way without a touch

she's freed her little family
and turns to helping each of them
step out of the dark rubble
piled over her bare feet

they all look around fearful of
recapture but the church is oddly
empty, a silent wind rising and falling
like a breath as relief slowly fills
the vaulted space with light


[free verse poem on a dream of 8-12-13. This is one of those endlessly layered dreams. And, yes, that first stanza is a mouthful. I just didn't have the patience to work any more on it. I have no illusions about producing or even trying to produce great poetry here anyway. (Though I do work at my writing quite assiduously.) And there are those who would say this is not even a poem. But that's another issue altogether. I'll only comment that the dream itself is the "poetic" metaphor. And I'll end these somewhat cranky notes by saying that one of the aspects I'm most touched by in this dream/poem is how even the church is freed at the end. It becomes a space of light again, not punishment. May It Be So. Photo "Return of the Light" 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 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.