THE INQUIRY (photo art) & TRUE COLORS (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

TRUE COLORS*

like a well-plotted and directed
James Bond movie the retrieval
of the precious stolen object
plays out exactly as planned

the actress hired at the last minute
by the leader of the raid as his partner
in the high-class re-robbery
makes the grade and then some,
her performance spot on
as a European head of state

when all fakery's dropped
and the reclaiming raiders finally
breach the high wire fence
of the thieves' compound,
victory lights the midnight sky
as surely as lightning
through the sudden downpour

the actress stands in her sodden
trench coat laughing, "I knew we'd
succeeded," she declares
"when for once my dress
was not in total tatters
at the end"

fade to black as a female
voice sings softly in an endless loop
"I see your true colors shining through,
I see your true colors
and that's why I love you..."*


[free verse poem on a dream of 11-2-13. *I've always been very fond of the Cyndi Lauper version of the song
"True Colors" and was reminded of it last night when it was sung very movingly on the T.V. show "Glee." To the dream itself: I think it's addressing a recent sadness I've been feeling. As if some part of me has stolen away with a certain very valuable focus or determination, and left an embarrassed self-pity in its place, like some fairy changeling. This dream fulfills the wish that what's been "stolen" be retrieved. Or maybe even makes the point that it's not gone, just eclipsed in some way. Photo art "The Inquiry" (8-20-09) 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.