THE TETHERS LOOSEN (photo) & THE RISING TIDE (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

THE RISING TIDE

it's clear that I must return this spirit,
this barely out of toddlerhood child,
to the other side of living

while no easy chore I take it on
without hesitation, I will find and open
a pathway back to the land
of non-existence, then start the child
firmly down that road that's said
to vanish even as it's trod upon

what can I say, it all seems as right
and necessary to do as breathing
this spirit child has served its purpose
and emptied purpose left to wander
surely caused this haunting

just like the 28 warrior guards I've lined up
military style to one side, who've also
been stuck here in the land of the living
long past their usefulness

I wonder if I should open a path
to the left of the child's by which "The 28"
can await their return to the void,
while I finish nudging the child
along her reluctant way

in a flash the Over-Mind inserts the thought
"Focus on the child, the immediate
task at hand, and let what will follow,
follow as it will"

sigh, I'd rather plan ahead and work
endlessly on procedure and form
from every conceivable angle
but now see that most letting go happens
one messy unpredictable step at a time,
and all my fussing has only bound
these unfortunate ghosts to life

(but how will I survive the rising tide
of loneliness already lapping at my feet?)


[free verse poem on a dream of 9-4-13. This is a jam packed dream. I could go on for paragraphs on the theme of letting go alone. There are references to personal history and my attachment thereto, both the incidents and my interpretations of them. All not surprising given the intense daily journal/dialogue I've been doing, somewhat in the vein of Carl Jung's "active imagination." Oh, and why 28? My immediate thought was the number of days in the moon's and a woman's menstrual cycle. Photo "The Tethers Loosen" (9-7-13) 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.