THE PARTY LINE (photo art) & ON REFUSING (dream tankas w/two-liner) by Roswila

ON REFUSING

the president's wife
calls me on the telephone
she knows her husband's
been cheating on her, also
aware I may know with whom

she strongly implies
I could lose my position
if I don't reveal
the name of the brazen hussy
messing with the president

now which is more rank?
infidelity's odor
or the wife's blackmail:
I cannot bear cheaters but
hold no respect for this wife

I keep the I.D.
of his paramour secret
claiming I don't know,
refusing to get between
this entrenched power couple

I don't mind the little weight of this lie
and why risk the nuclear fall out from truth


[four tanka capped by a two-liner on a dream of 11-10-13. I've had this one in my unposted file for a week, not sure how I felt about it. And fortunately other dreams prompted writing I felt better about posting in the meantime. But last night came up "dry" (that often happens at a full moon for me) and I'm left to choose between posting something I like even less, something I've posted before, or skipping a day. So I'm going with this "fresh" one above. If I really think on it -- as I just did :-D -- this is a somewhat positive dream. No matter the pressures to the contrary (both objective and subjective) I am beginning to take care of myself in ways I haven't before. Photo art "The Party Line" (4-3-12) 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.