NIGHTMARE (photo) & TO BE OF USE (old dream-based scifaiku series) by Roswila

TO BE OF USE

we volunteer
to protect the shoreline
evil from the sea

an ugly tendril
pierces my forearm
gene hunter

I am afraid
that I’ll transmogrify
lock me up

check my DNA
for clues to this invader
use me


[four dream-based scifaiku written on a dream in December of 2006. Scifaiku stand pretty much in the same relationship to haiku as dreamku. Only they have a sci-fi, fantasy, cosmological, or horror focus. This series can clearly be considered both dreamku and scifaiku. It’s another example of the rather abbreviated dreamku, scifaiku, and haiku style I worked in a great deal back then. Sometimes it worked, but I’m not certain it works all that well here. But I share the series today because I’ve always enjoyed the science fiction scenario it uses to get across a psychological fear. Yes, that may sound odd to enjoy something that’s addressing a fear, say, or something deeply painful. However, I often find this happens with my attempts at artistic expression. Maybe that’s what’s healing about art. The process can help create a distance that makes room for whatever may be needed at the moment. I just titled this series today and it’s a reference to Marge Piercy’s poem of the same name (the last two lines: The pitcher cries for water to carry // and a person for work that is real). In fact I think back then my feeling utterly useless, and doing useless temporary office work, was at least as scary to me as the worry over deep psychological issues. (The issue of being useful now largely fuels my volunteer work in our community.) This is not to ignore the psychological implications of this series at the time it was written and even to some degree at present. Just to highlight another aspect to its story. Photo “Nightmare” 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.

Ganesh graphic (by Vivienne Flesher) & [untitled] (old dreamku) by Roswila

a Ganesh statue
wobbles on the dusty shelf
I reach up quickly


[old dreamku dreamed/written in October 2007. As you may note from the sidebar (see my prayer) Ganesh is my favorite Deity. Actually, it would be more accurate to say I relate to Him as “first among equals.” This dreamku has always given me pause when I’ve stumbled across it. On reading it today I think that wobbling statue was trying to get my attention. That is, I’d been forgetting about, maybe even turning my back on the precious possibilities that Ganesh represents. (E.g., He’s most frequently praised and invoked as “Remover of Obstacles.”) It’s not surprising I felt the urge to post this dreamku today given the state of my inner life recently. It’s been more than a little wobbly and messy. Graphic by Vivienne Flesher – I’ve always loved this Ganesh in space]

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.

ALIEN MITOSIS (photo) & A MONKEY'S UNCLE (dreamku series) by Roswila

A MONKEY’S UNCLE

well, I’ll be a monkey’s
uncle! this man actually
appears to like me

he’s not quite the type
I usually fall for, yearning
from a distance
but he’s rather nice and seems
to enjoy my company

oh no, don’t tell me
I don’t want to hear this tape
I’ve stumbled across:
he sincerely believes he was
once abducted by space aliens

but I still like him
(a lot) and he still pursues
me respectfully
so what does it matter what
he thinks in one corner of his mind

when all is said and done (and believed) it’s actions
that count – and his speak volumes of integrity


[a dreamku and three tanka, capped by a two-liner on a dream of 1-31-13. Photo “Alien Mitosis” 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.

BAD MOON RISING (photo) & A CHANGE OF PLANS (dreamku series) by Roswila

A CHANGE OF PLANS

she cancels on me
almost at the last minute
but I decide to
go by myself to check out
the apartment by the sea

I figure I can
handle attending that unknown
wedding along the
endless way – it’s the only place
to wait for the connecting bus

but, dang, this visit’s
sounding more complicated
than I’d first believed
a passing stranger tells me
the bus ride will take two hours

I visualize
approaching the apartment
building by the sea
the night air cold and the moon
light bleeding across the water

well, I like Gothic
just fine but not all alone
on a winter’s night,
after an arduous trip
through foreign territory

yes, I’ll reschedule, go on this trek some other time
no shame, no blame, but I feel as if I’m giving up


[a tanka series topped by a two-liner on a dream of 1-29-13. Photo “Bad Moon Rising” 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.

IN THE TEETH OF THE WIND (photo) & [untitled] (old dreamku) by Roswila

that’s why she’s so slow!
she keeps spiraling past
her own memories

each in turn clings, adding to her burden
dangling and prickling like burrs on Velcro


[an old dreamku capped by a two-liner on a night of dreams from September of 2007, revised and expanded from just the first three lines 1-28-13. I’d always liked those first three lines but they felt incomplete so I left them for future revision. Today I first made one small change in the third line: “memories” was originally “past.” At the time I wrote it in 2007 I thought that the two different usages of “past” was clever. But I now think that clinging to that so-called cleverness is why it took me five years to finish this one. Once the word “memories” was here it became clear what more from the dreams wanted to be expressed. And, yes, I do have a vague rather sensory memory of the emotional impact of that night’s dreams, if not specific details. Photo “In the Teeth of the Wind” 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.

DANCING ON AIR (photo) & [untitled] (old dreamku) by Roswila

I line my sneakers
with popcorn in lieu of socks
binge food run


[dreamku, dreamed and written in January of 2008. The more things change, the more they stay the same. If my right knee -- which has been horribly cranky for days now -- would let me I’d be going on a “binge food run” down to our snack machine. Sometimes a cranky knee has a good side effect, hm? Photo “Dancing On Air” 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.