PASSAGEWAY (photo) & DECORATING THE DIVE (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

DECORATING THE DIVE

ah, good! it's still here, that odd hallway
I'd begun to think I'd imagined, that ends
in the other dimension, but it is real
and my friends and I slip through
with much delight
we commune happily with another friend
who entered this other side so long ago
and stayed, much to our sorrow
she tells us it's really no big deal
to make the dive into and out of
this alternate space,
simply treat the hallway
like a pool, aim, and off you go
that even the sides of the hallway hang
like a pool's containing walls,
wavering with ambient light
as one floats or speeds past
maybe I should make an effort,
I think, to somehow decorate
those wide walls of passage,
find some way to artfully display
small paintings and other chachkis*
in that changing light so there will be
intriguing things to peruse on any future
ill-conceived or wandering unfocussed dive


[free verse poem on a dream of 10-31-13. "Chachkis" -- one of several ways I've seen of spelling the Yiddish word for trinkets and baubles of little monetary worth, but often of sentimental value. I associate the other dimension in this dream to death, which is not surprising given I had this dream on Halloween night. But I have had at least one other dream that I recall of visiting "the other side." That old dream was more about calming my fears that my then recently deceased friend was still suffering after her death and this current dream's focus seems to be largely on the "passing over" itself. Photo "Passageway" (9-23-13) by Roswila; and, yes, it's the same photo I posted yesterday, in its original colors]

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.