AT THE EDGE OF THE RABBIT HOLE (photo art) & TILT! (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

TILT!

here she is again, that old frenemy
it wouldn't be so annoying but as usual
she's driving the car, not leaving me
any choice of path or goal

I settle back as carefully as possible
into the lumpy and broken passenger seat
deciding to stay open to the ride
and where this is all going

just as the hum of the tires on the tarmac
begins to soothe my agitation
the nearly circus clown sized car
tilts way over onto its left side wheels,
the right wheels on the shoulder of the road

her reaction, well, nil, and I hesitate
to say anything as she'll just snap at me
as usual, saying "I know, I know, there you
go again stating the obvious"

but as I open my mouth to speak anyway
she turns off the highway saying we'd better
find a gas station, my concern now
how to find one that's safe and trustworthy
in this strange little countryside town

she pulls into the first one we come to
a sprawling spanking clean gas station
with repair service signs shining brightly
and workers in spotless white coveralls
standing around chatting

then we notice the large "CLOSED" sign
she doesn't even stop but drives on out
I find myself again hesitant to speak up
(we could've asked when they'll be opening)
but the habit of bowing to her control
of both driving and what I can or cannot say
runs too deep, and I hold silence
as we drive on at the same crazy tilt


[free verse poem on a dream of 10-23-13. An interesting and common occurrence in my dreams. Just when I feel one way consciously, a dream will say, nuh-uh! The opposite is going on at some important level. In this case, I'd begun to feel "in the driver's seat" of my waking life again, at least long enough to go down the road apiece. Also that I've been listening to my intuitions, to those less conscious aspects. Well, this dream says I've got quite a way to go. That poor car -- my life -- is tilted way over to the left, i.e. to the conscious side, at least in some important way. I think this is where a Tarot reading will help. I hasten to add, as I've said before I don't see balance as a static thing but dynamic. However, there are times we can get stuck out of balance in some way, as I hear this dream saying. I also had an association to the title "Tilt!" Pin ball players used to try to cheat by tilting the table. The path that took me down is too lengthy to go into here, but it was fruitful. Suffice it to say it had to do with the "I" being in unconscious collusion with "she." Photo art "At the Edge of the Rabbit Hole" (10-3-09) 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.