EYE OF THE NEEDLE (photo art) & THE SHOO-IN (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

THE SHOO-IN

the CEO encourages her to apply
for a job, "Just between you and me
you're a shoo-in for the position"

she dresses in her corporate best even
wearing a trim skirt that shows her
recently slimmed figure at its best
(hey, a salary's a salary, she can wear
her feminist badge later at home)

but when she reaches the office door
she's dumbfounded: concrete
steps glare in the morning sun,
a good three feet high each
and worse, there's no other entrance!

the guard's carefully neutral gaze
follows her as she sidles to the far left
and attempts to haul herself up
using the cold metal hand railing

no go! both bad knees and tight skirt
stop her lifted foot at barely half way
up the bottom step, what a pickle...

she gives up, knowing from long
experience she's been defeated
so much for that shoo-in
too soon to go there, if ever again
as she turns away the guard's eyes
betray a flicker of sympathy

retracing her steps home through
the grocery store aisles she wonders
what snacks she should stock up on,
her new shape and slim skirt already
buried beneath the weight of yet
another disappointment


[free verse poem on a dream of 9-30-13. A dream filled with very important messages. Most of them implied "don'ts." No matter what various life struggles and disappointments present themselves, just keep going with my "getting healthy project" (i.e. more exercise and losing weight). I think the image of seeking a paying job is particularly interesting. On recall of the dream I immediately realized I've already been expecting a big "pay off" for only a couple months of work on my health. And that way lies certain disappointment, as I have many, many months yet to go. I.e., the overall point to this dream might be boiled down to: don't expect too much too soon. And I'd even say to try not to expect anything, but embrace each step ("successful" or not) along the way. Photo "Eye of the Needle" (9-11-13) 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.