HIGH TIDE (photo) & THE MASQUERADE (dreamku series) by Roswila

THE MASQUERADE

seeking just a taste
of romance on the high seas
we board the old ship
the archipelago we sail by
resembling ancient Japan

“Aarh, Matey!” resounds
through the salty air on this
three-masted pirate brig,
we’re in a re-enactment
and enjoying the masquerade

below decks I watch
a film about the turtles
of this island group
they’re no longer endangered
and fill the beaches, a slow tide

as each turtle lumbers
across the sand it exclaims:
“Aarh!” then “Aarh!” again:
could this be the origin
of the pirate expression?

I rush to tell my mates of this clever thought,
my baggy costume flapping in the high wind


[four tanka capped by a two-liner on a dream of 2-15-13. I’m now going to have a private case of the giggles each time I find myself with the urge to say “Aarh!” out loud. As I all too often find myself wanting to do, lumbering along with my cane and arthritic joints. Photo “High Tide” 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.

TURNING POINT (photo) & THE PATH (dream tanka and dreamku) by Roswila

THE PATH

two men fall for
the same vaguely fey beauty
one, buck toothed and young
the other, older and handsome –
the young one watches and waits

his wistfulness swirls
then trails away whispering
“You've trod this path before”


[a tanka and dreamku on a dream of 10-17-11. I’ve been having a lot of dreams recently about, shall I say, “hooking up.” So this old dream/ku seems quite relevant. On another topic altogether, I’ve found a work around for that blogger photo posting problem I was having. Odd thing is, the problem was first reported and supposedly fixed in early January, at which time they announced a work around. Well, of course their work around is no longer effective or maybe it just doesn’t work on my old computer. But their instructions gave me the idea for how I'm now getting coding for photo posting. Photo “Turning Point” 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.

HOLDING BACK (photo) & THE FULL TRUTH (dreamku series) by Roswila

THE FULL TRUTH

the strange young woman
and I climb the subway stairs
I’m going to show
her around New York City
as this is her first visit

I proudly tell her
I haven’t been here in five years
but it feels like home
as the words leave my lips
I realize it’s not the full truth

beneath the welcome
sight of Manhattan’s brightly
lit night-time buildings
an anxious tension buzzes
I turn to warn the stranger

she’s gone a ghost who’s done her haunting


[three tanka with a capping monoku on a dream of 2-12-13. Still having to “re-cycle” photos posted previously to either this or my photo blog. The change in the blogger system still doesn’t give me the coding for any new picture even though it indicates it’s uploaded the photo. So this photo of mine above, “Holding Back,” was first posted here almost two years ago. It’s frustrating beyond having to use ones I’ve used before whether I want to or not. It really narrows my field of choice. And I often get the itch to edit them slightly in some way but even if I do, could not get the posting code for that new version. Enough complaining. Hope you have a lovely Valentine’s Day!]

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.

EYE OF THE PHOENIX (photo) & IT'S ALL IN HOW YOU LOOK AT IT (dreamku series) by Roswila

IT’S ALL IN HOW YOU LOOK AT IT

the smiling new friend
tells me animatedly how
she really likes me
but I respond that her left eye
says something very different

furrows appear in
her young brow as she puzzles
over what I’ve said
she hooks a strand of dark hair
behind her bejeweled left ear

“But I do like you”
she softly asserts as now
I turn to puzzling:
maybe it’s the way I read
everyone’s left eyes, I say,

shadow trickery
or an ancient memory
clouding the cornea


[three tanka and a dreamku on a dream of 2-12-13. Photo “Eye of the Phoenix” by Roswila. I've actually slightly edited this photo, intensifying the colors a wee bit and coloring out some dots I didn't like. But blogger has again made some sort of upgrade that's seems to be leaving me in the dust: I can't get the coding for a new picture. Blogger will say it's been loaded, but no coding appears. So I had to copy the coding I already have for the older version from a posting to my photo blog back in the fall of 2011. Well, this glitch may very well force me to set up my new computer.]

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.

PENMANSHIP (photo) & THE CRITIC (dreamku series) by Roswila

THE CRITIC

his scathing critique
of my hand lettering draft –
hey, man, can you spell
“draft”? and I made no promises
for this long unused hand-eye skill

then, pray tell, why are you demanding
that I do this onerous project over again?

get someone else or would no one else stand for you?


[a tanka and two-liner topped by a monoku. More and more I’m wanting to emphasize that the only one of these forms I confidently identify is the three line “dreamku.” (Not in the above series.) I tend to use all the other terms – tanka, two-liner, and monoku – very loosely. I’d probably even stop mentioning what they are except that what little of these forms’ parameters I adhere to do have an impact on what and how I write. An impact that I find helpful. Anyway, to this dream/ku. Yup, I’ve been an old cranky pants now for several days. Actually, far worse than a cranky pants and about at the end of my rope. Though I do think I’ve identified the precipitating factors, which should be starting to pass now. As usual, I identify them as they turn to go out the door. Photo “Penmanship” 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.

WILLOW WEEP FOR ME (photo) & TERMINATED (old dreamku series) by Roswila

TERMINATED

two of the sisters
in a welter of sisters
are expecting
I know only one of these two
dark haired Brooklyn babes,

and only slightly
at that, but feel moved to give
her a shower gift
I’ve crafted it mostly myself
and it’s not a major deal

she walks hesitantly
into the room where just I
sit at a table
her hair an envious fall
a soft blanketing

she shuffles through gifts
for mine, handing it back to me
with a gentle smile

her heavy Brooklyn
accent makes her cautious speech
unintelligible
miscarriage? unwanted gift?
no sorrow, so it must be the latter

I mask my own sadness
yet another attempt on my part
to connect, terminated


[dreamku series on a dream of 6-29-12. An old dream/ku, but it’s all too relevant now. I’ve noted this about the occasional other old dream/ku – I’m tempted to see it as having been clairvoyant. However, it’s far more likely that based on past experience I was just very aware at the time about how things could very well play out. Photo “Willow Weep For Me” 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.

HEAR ME OUT! (photo) & A NIGHT OF TELLING DREAMS (dream tankas) by Roswila

A NIGHT OF TELLING DREAMS

One:

what did you do when
you were in your late teens
(Grammaw hadn’t yet
developed diabetes and
you were still on your first job)


Two:

you’d better finish
ordering all the weapons
needed for protection
(9/11 is coming ‘round again
and it’s better to be prepared)


Three:

what’s an alien
creature (this stick thin humanoid)
doing in your bed
and why’s it grabbing at you
and refusing to let go


Four:

and just who does this
handsome young doctor think he is?
(the best actor on
the planet?) don’t you get it?
he’s a flirty three dollar bill


Five:

hell, yes, it’s all your
responsibility
(if not all your fault)
you’re the lowest on this dog pile
so the buck stops here


[five tanka on five separate dreams of 2-9-13. All the dreams, though not explicitly talking to me, had a teaching, even ordering tone. Maybe “they” were trying another way to get my attention. Which is why I cast all the tanka in a “you” voice. Photo “Hear Me Out!” 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.