MAKING MAGIC (photo art) & OUR GENIE (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

OUR GENIE

our copper skinned burly genie rests
(deceptively inactive, I think to myself)
by the kidney-shaped pool of our home
typical of southwestern well-to-do folk
(I just know he's manipulating all our lives
though no one's making any wishes,
at least not consciously, that is)

genie on board or not, our family's now going
through a rough patch, our latest stepmother
bringing a deep and troubled sadness with her,
a poverty of spirit whether from starvation
or abuse we do not yet comprehend

while our genie appears to snooze on,
our new stepmom approaches me with a smile
so wobbly I fear it will slip right away
but it seems our welcome and patience
have eased her pain enough that she's now
able to ask for and accept a hug from me

its brief harbor surprises her and she steps back,
pausing, then this small hesitant woman
opens her arms for another embrace,
warmer and more lingering

I open my eyes as we disengage, just in time
to catch our genie with the flicker
of a smile on his impish face


[free verse poem on a dream of 11-5-13. Talk about wishful thinking! However, I hasten to add that when I let go of trying to control it all, things sometimes happen that do feel rather magical. Not what I may have wished for or expected (or even feared) but, well, magical in some way. Upshot? I'm reminded of that expression: "Life is what happens while you're making other plans." Photo art "Making Magic" (10-30-09) 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.