Roswila's Dream & Poetry Realm

SEE ALSO: TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT (photos, realistic to abstract)

Saturday, January 26, 2013

BABY'S NEW BONNET (photo) & [untitled] (old dreamku) by Roswila



crowded cross town bus
I teach a stranger’s baby
how to wave bye-bye


[old dreamku dreamed/written in January of 2007. I revised this slightly today. It was written during a time when I was writing such “minimalist” dreamku that many wound up being rather dull moments. Those that I have been able to revive of that type required only a descriptive word or two to spark with the dream’s life again (at least for me). In this case, I added “cross town” and “stranger’s.” Photo “Baby’s New Bonnet” by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- 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 understand or interpret 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.

For more in-depth exploration:

-- 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 other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

DREAMKU ARE NOT HAIKU (by Roswila)

[100 year old hand colored photo]


DREAMKU ARE NOT HAIKU

Someone recently informed me in an email that dreamku are not haiku. I can imagine why someone not having read my lengthy primer and other materials on the development of the dreamku form might think I believe that they are. But I have not ever claimed that dreamku and haiku are the same form, nor will I. I have too much respect and love for haiku. So I thought it might be timely to post a very short excerpt from my guest editorship stint on the “Edge of the Moon” page in the now defunct haiku magazine, MOONSET:

For many years, I attempted to write haiku about my dream world. I sometimes liked them well enough as little dream poems, but did not feel they did justice to the haiku form itself. In late 2006 I realized I might be developing a new form and began calling it "dreamku." This on-going “kissing cousin” relationship between the dreamku and haiku forms can sometimes make them indistinguishable. (E.g., one of my dreamku: the path spirals / to the garden's center / a first step.)

Generally, the differences between dreamku and haiku tend to be more of degree than of kind. E.g.: (1) Dreamku tend to be wordier. (2) Dreamku are frequently far less subtle and often very intense. (3) When possible dreamku "show not tell," but they often do "tell." (4) Seasons are frequently non-existent in a dream, making a kigo [season word or name of the season] uncommon in dreamku. However, I have read that the word "dream" itself could be considered a kigo. It has also been suggested that the dreamer could be the kigo, as she herself is the dream setting. (5) All this said, one of the haiku elements that I consider essential to dreamku is the kireji [the stop or full break between two elements]. As I see it, the relationship between two elements not only creates a spaciousness in this small form, but can help to accommodate the often unusual or impossible dream moment juxtapositions.
[end of excerpt]

I should also explain that "dreamku" (based on usage by myself and others) refers to both the three line dream poem and to the lengthier combination of various forms (dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku) I've been using recently with any one dream. However, as used in the excerpt above "dreamku" is referencing only the three line form.

I also hasten to add that I make no claims that any tanka, two-liner, or monoku I write about a dream adheres to that form's traditional parameters. In the case of these other forms I am less familiar with their traditional requirements than I am with those of haiku, and adapt what little I do know if I feel a strong need to do so.

See the links in my signature section immediately below for more information.


BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- 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 understand or interpret 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.

For more in-depth exploration:

-- 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 brief 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 other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

EMERGENT (photo) & A MONSTER LESSON (dreamku series) by Roswila



A MONSTER LESSON

you’re transmogriphying,
she says to the sweet young man --
he’s knows but not how much

even as he fights
to stay balanced on the rope bridge
his hiking boots split
his shirt sleeves and pant legs rip:
a monster emergent

once they’re on solid
ground she approaches him,
knowing he’s as gentle
as ever she hugs him close
enjoying his increased height

her personal Frankenstein, she thinks, complete
with the same innocence no one else can see …

and with the same intense impact --
he’ll have to learn to modulate it


[three tanka and a pair of two-liners on a dream of 1-22-13. Yes, Frankenstein was not the monster but his creator. However, for decades the monster has been referred to as Frankenstein, so I’m letting it stand. This confusion of name even informs the dream at one level. More to the point I’ve always been deeply moved by the monster’s puzzled and painful innocence in the original movie. But until this dream I did not recognize how much I still identify with him. Photo “Emergent” by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- 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 understand or interpret 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.

For more in-depth exploration:

-- 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 brief 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 other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

HOLDING BACK THE NIGHT (photo) & THE DEBT CEILING (dreamku series) by Roswila



THE DEBT CEILING

how will she ever
pay all these monthly bills
that keep piling up?
she worries and figures but
the bills just keep coming in

they line up in stark
black and white, hanging above
from the cold ceiling
they have no mouths but she’s sure
they’re laughing at her

that this is all in the past is no help
knowing it’s memory can’t clear the air


[two tanka capped by a two-liner on a dream of 1-21-13. Photo “Holding Back the Night”]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- 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 understand or interpret 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.

For more in-depth exploration:

-- 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 brief 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 other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

Monday, January 21, 2013

PLUMBING THE DEPTHS (photo) & [untitled] (old dreamku) by Roswila



the next task:
raise the five gifted children
from the Well of Will


[an old dreamku, dreamed and written in July 2006. This intrigued me back then. It had a rather Celtic mythology feel to it. At that time I had three major interests: dreams, poetry and Tarot. I considered them my children, in a way. So I briefly wondered if there were two more “children” yet to be “born.” Then in 2009 (a year after moving from New York City to California) I stumbled across digital photography and was hooked, making a fourth “child.” In the last year or so I’ve begun to feel there’s yet another passionate interest waiting to come out. I’ve suspected it might actually be a return to my earliest: drawing and painting. It hasn’t happened. But if it should (when it does?) that will make five children: dreams, poetry, Tarot, photography, and drawing/painting. I’ve also puzzled over that last line and what “the Well of Will” is referencing. I have become acutely aware in the last couple of years how I can have passion for an “art,” but unless it’s accompanied by will it’s rather unproductive. I.e., if I wait for those lovely fleeting moments when passion propels me and feels almost effortless, I will get little accomplished. My hard working will has to lead the way almost all the time. To slightly paraphrase Edison: [a passionate pursuit] is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. There’s more I could say, but this is already a rather lengthy comment for a little, very old dreamku. Photo “Plumbing the Depths” by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- 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 understand or interpret 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.

For more in-depth exploration:

-- 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 brief 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 other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

ALL ROADS LEAD HOME (photo) & AN OLD DREAMKU DUO by Roswila



AN OLD DREAMKU DUO

the toddler wanders
through an adult-filled room
his neck aches

* * * *

a collage named
“Ciudad de mis Madres”
a woman’s long legs


[two dreamku dreamed and written on separate dreams from the same night in April of 2010. Not much dream recall from last night. Just a vague fragment about a dark haired toddler boy being taught how to behave and/or to do certain things. And that put me in mind of the first dreamku above. As to that collage named in the second dreamku, I’ve had an idea for a collage ever since I had the dream. At one time I even started collecting magazine pictures for it. It was to be round and filled with (and may yet be) tall darkish things, like city buildings and trees. They were all to be angled toward central pictures of women’s long legs. And that goes back to the first dreamku. His neck aches from constantly looking up at the so much taller adults. As to the collage title, that’s exactly as I dreamed it. When I’ve googled, it translates as “my mother city.” It also queried if I meant “ciudad de las madres,” and, no, I don’t. Neither is that google translation what the dream feeling was: city of my mothers. So I’ll let it stand even if the Spanish is questionable. It was what I dreamed. Photo “All Roads Lead Home” by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, and monoku -- 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 understand or interpret 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.

For more in-depth exploration:

-- 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 brief 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 other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.