THE DROWNED MAN (photo art) & WHERE'S PAUL (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

WHERE'S PAUL

where's Paul, I think
in a bit of a panic
after all he's been quite ill
and not walking very well
not to mention he was
just next to me on this
narrow concrete sidewalk
lined on each side with
a sea of tall and wildly
askew weeds

I turn around to ask his
black border collie where
he is, "Connor," I say,
"where's Paul!" knowing
this is an exceptional dog
who not only understands
human words but has been
known to speak them

but only silence
greets me as he bows
his shiny head for a pat
and lightly thumps
his long feathery tail

I spin back around
to search the tall weeds
gesturing madly against
the skyline in the distance
as if in a semaphor I now
deeply regret I never learned


[free verse dream poem on a dream of 9-18-13. Interesting, this is the second name of an apostle of Jesus I've dreamt of in recent days. I can, at least in part, trace that to reading Jung's "Red Book" in which he references the bible regularly. It's also interesting (at least to me) to note that the name Paul means "small or humble." The name Connor is heavily influenced by an infant on a soap opera (I keep the T.V. on in the background as I work at my computer -- who's a multi-tasker!). His true paternity was outed only when he was found to have a genetic disease that could blind him. Then when I googled "Connor" I found it can mean "wise 'Hound-lover.'" I love these synchronicities. Anyway, I haven't really gotten deep beneath the skin of this dream yet, though I look forward to doing so later. I do note after drafting this poem that language or communication difficulty runs through it. Hm, and that leads me to wonder how can one find/retrieve something without the language or symbols to express it? And that's an issue I find myself up against all the time in writing poetry and editing my photos. I'm after something but just can't find the way to it, much less express it. When I do, the results are always both satisfying and a disappointment. Photo "The Drowned Man" (10-24-10) 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....".

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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.