HEADLIGHTS (photo) & THESE TWO FIGURES

THESE TWO FIGURES

the sight of these two figures riding the edge
of the arriving full moon saddens me,
though savvy enough after all these years
of waxing and waning to know no one
ever stays laid to rest for long
but comes round again in lesser
or greater, older or newer form,
and these two: a seductive boy-man
and dismissive queen-woman,
spread themselves across the windshield
of sleep, making vision beyond
their ancient imperatives impossible,
then long after waking, still cling to inner vision
like the aftermath of a double star gone nova


[free verse poem coming out of dreams of 12-13-13. The dreams themselves were realistic and had actual people in them that I've known. What I'm trying to do in this poem, though, is not to share the actual dream story but how I was and still am feeling emotionally in response to the dreams. All of the images in this poem were dredged up as I wrote, i.e. they don't come from the dreams themselves. (E.g. there is actually a full moon coming in a few days.) In a way, writing this poem was like dreaming about the dreams. In fact, as I think on it, all dream poetry writing is like that for me. It's just that this one departs much more from the actual dream worlds themselves than is my usual wont. Photo "Headlights" (7-17-10 10003e) 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....".

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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.