APPROACHING THE LOSS (photo art) & IN THE DUST (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

IN THE DUST

he rushes off after proudly handing me
the completed anthology of poems

but I quickly realize there's a big difference
between "completed" and "ready to print"

it's up to me now to proof and ultimately
print it out as a book: left holding the bag
yet again, I grumble

but I waste no more time on self-pity
and get to work checking the contents
against original sources

to my surprise an elderly female librarian
helps me track down one missing group
of source poems, easing my mood a bit

at the last, only one poem accepted
for publication in the anthology
cannot be found in any form: "Equus"

how predictable and sad, I think,
that it would be one whose title echoes
with questions and differences between
the passionately spiritual and mentally ill,
wrapped up in the compelling image
of a childhood love of my own

I'm not at all surprised he lost or dropped
"Equus" like a hot potato along the way,
it's not the first time he's left me
in the dust, scrabbling around trying
to give expression to that which he
remains stubbornly blind


[free verse poem on a dream of 12-8-13. In the dream, the title of that lost poem definitely echoed with memories of the play of the same name, Equus. It was like a black hole (as in astronomy) at the heart of the dream. Making me aware on drafting this piece of what I may be missing in my life and need to add to my on-going inquiry. BTW, again I point out (as I did in my comments to yesterday's post) that "he" is an aspect of me, although represented in the dream by an actual person I have known. Photo art "Approaching the Loss" (5-9-12 11913v2) by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, monoku, free verse, dream narratives -- 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 or narrative 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. I now tend to "show" (the dream story) 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 also pretty much applies to my free verse dream poems as well. As to what I have begun calling dream narratives, they are a different animal, probably most akin to prose poems.

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.