THE MONKEY WRENCH (photo art) & FLASH FIRE (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

FLASH FIRE

two children skip ahead of us
as we amble in the late afternoon
along the old cement path,
drying grass and wheat-like fronds
poking up from every crack

she stops suddenly, setting fronds
to waving and dropping their seeds
did she see something in the confusion
of the browning grasses?
no, she's rounding on me, dressing
me down faster than an elevator
in free fall

defense! my immediate instinct
but I hold my tongue well back
from that dangerous front
and gently assert that it may not
be good for the children
to witness this sort of anger

her rage promptly fragments
raining hotly down around us
and waking me from this odd dream

just what was the point of all
that fulminating anyway? I roll over
into sleep and a new dream, leaving
her to deal with any fall out
from her flash fire alone


[free verse poem on a dream of 10-31-13. Well, I did dream it on Halloween night, so I guess I could say the devil made me do it. But seriously, I'm still as puzzled by this dream as I was when I briefly woke from it in the night. The woman was someone I actually know, though the children were non-specific, vague presences. Though I have to admit to having some interesting associations as I type these comments right now. Photo art "The Monkey Wrench" (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....".

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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.