BALANCING THE LOAD (photo art) & THE FIRST OF SEVEN (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

THE FIRST OF SEVEN

the first of seven labors the dream assigns
and the only one to be recalled on waking:

organize the slew of applications
for a sadly small number of jobs,
before they slide off
the dark wood executive desk

determine which claim to be either
of the two acceptable character types
printed in bold black across the top
of each completed application form:

"Applicant must be
RADIANT TYPE
or
PSYCHIC TYPE"

and keep in mind the footnote
in tiny italics at the end
of the several pages of each form:

"Radiant: naturally radiating love
as dominant trait; Psychic: includes
empathy and intuition as primary traits"

after two piles of forms that almost visibly
trail hope finally sit neatly stacked,
the larger for the round file,
the other for deeper review,
a thought rises like a shy will-o-the-wisp:

what happened to "FORGIVING"?


[free verse dream poem on a dream of 10-28-13. Oy, I hope this dream isn't predicting six more labors to come in future dreams. Well, even so I should count myself lucky; Hercules had 12 labors to complete. But that comment is really a joke, and this dream most certainly is not. The number seven is interesting in numerology. I was floored, however, when I googled for more info to flesh out my sense of it as indicating an interiorly oriented person. The description of the number seven at the link above sounds overall much more like me than the number five -- which I am, doubled, i.e. both by name and birth date. I'm no numerologist, but maybe like other esoteric systems numerology allows for evolution as one ages. In any case, this dream seems to be an exploration of what qualities rate high on my list, both in others and for me to develop. Photo art "Balancing the Load" (7-11-09) 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....".

* * * *

‘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.