Roswila's Dream & Poetry Realm

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

Saturday, March 09, 2013

MARE'S NEST (photo) & THE COLLAGE (dreamku series) by Roswila



THE COLLAGE

these are the givens:
pictures, some whole, some partial,
from her life’s story,
littering the floor like fall leaves
after a frosty wild wind

she sits among them
a child-like absorption
lighting her old face –
she’s been given permission
to select what she will

as she sorts, selects,
rejects, and sorts some more
she hums to herself
she’s been told there may be bits
of love buried in these leavings

may her eye be true and her
touch light enough for the work


[three tanka and a capping two-liner on a dream of 3-9-13. Photo “Mare’s Nest” 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.

Friday, March 08, 2013

AGAINST THE NIGHT (photo) & LIKE WATER (free-verse dream poem) by Roswila



LIKE WATER

like water from my morning
shower the night’s dreams cling
lightly as they drip away

ah, there goes an empty
ink cartridge by the cross-
town curb, beads of dried
black ink lining its interior

was the fluid used up
in strings of lively words or did
it leak slowly away to leave
these scattered stains

I stop this wasted pondering and toss
the dark plastic shell in the recycle bin


[free-verse poem on a dream of 3-7-13. This is not a dreamku or any combination of these forms that I usually write in, except for the capping two-liner. I initially wrote those two lines as three, but like it better as two. This is where the question of intention comes in when defining something. I did not intend it as a two-liner in the modern haiku tradition, so is it? Not a question of great import but interesting nevertheless. Especially if applied beyond writing to other areas of life. Photo “Against the Night” 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, March 07, 2013

NIGHT WORK (photo) & A NIGHT OF GIFTS (double dreamku series) by Roswila



A NIGHT OF GIFTS

Dream One:

time’s short for packing
I stuff my dark carry-on
to the very hilt
an American Indian leans
toward me out of nowhere

he hovers like a memory or vision
anxious to give me what he’s holding

he says he’s finally
received clues to what he’s meant
to do in this life
and why and how he came
to be here to begin with

I can’t quite hear what the final clue’s about
he slips the four-pronged gift into my bag


Dream Two:

they tell me sadly
that the man is dying,
to say my good-byes

I find him resting
outdoors by the shadowy edge
of a dense dark wood
a redwood stands by him
a doorway through its trunk

one by one, deep forest
creatures come through the door
each stands briefly
embraced by the redwood’s portal
then fades back into shadow

their gentle dance a metaphor
my sadness the gift I bear


[dreamku series on two dreams of 3-6-13. Photo “Night Work” 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.

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

A TIGER PUZZLE (photo) & "the woman whispers..." (non-dream based haiku) by Roswila



the woman whispers
he rides her dancing tiger
into my heart


[This haiku is not dream-based, though the experience of developing it was dream-like. I was recently given a set of “Haikubes,” 63 dice with words on the sides. The instructions say to toss out all of them, then choose words from the up-sides with which to construct three lines of 5-7-5 syllables. As always, I had to try it my own way and just chose 17 cubes at random and looked at all four sides, figuring that would give me plenty of choices. Was I wrong! Not only did I wind up having to toss all the cubes, but looking at all their sides, too. The word “tiger,” though, was in that first batch of only 17 cubes and is the mental image that set me on the scent of a dream, imaginatively speaking. What’s also dream-like is the twist to the image. In Hindu mythology it’s the many-armed, fierce female Goddess Durga who’s often depicted riding a tiger. I knew this, but also “knew” this odd little haiku was going someplace else entirely. And, yes, that last line is one syllable short. Poetic license. I did initially have a descriptive one-syllable word for "heart," but it made the haiku way too busy. IMAGE: one of the many puzzles a fellow resident has assembled in our community room. As Tiger is one of my power animals I particularly liked this one and took a photo of it before it got broken down and put back in its box. Hm, puzzles (except for the rare one that someone might fix and frame) are much like dreams. They’re only complete and fully recognizable for a flash in time.]

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.

Tuesday, March 05, 2013

IN THE SHOWER (photo) & IN THE GAME (dreamku series) by Roswila



IN THE GAME

she’s in the shower
I take the call in which he says
where and when they’ll meet
she sticks her dripping wet head
out from behind the bathroom door

pouting she murmurs
“I forgot to dismantle
his friendship belt”
adding quickly “that would have
ended it with him, don’t you think?”

I agree that a
hidden move like that might
have broken them up
however, she might need
to split up with him herself

not bear the secret a sticky attachment

she mumbles something
and shuts the bathroom door --
I begin shuffling
cards to play a game of hearts
with a strange dark-haired man


[three tanka, a monoku, and a capping tanka on a dream of 3-4-13. Photo “In the Shower” 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.

Monday, March 04, 2013

NATURE'S KEYBOARD (photo) & TOO HIGH (tanka and dreamku) by Roswila



TOO HIGH

the dating service
emails me a man’s bio
it’s been many years
and I did not think I was
still in their data base

mildly curious
I pause, then click on delete
the cost is too high


[a tanka and dreamku on a dream of 3-3-13. Of course, the cost mentioned here is not only for the dating service, but for any relationship that might come out of the connection. I'm not sure whether to be sad about the decision implied in the latter meaning of "cost," or to take it as an acceptance of my personal reality. Photo “Nature’s Keyboard” 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.

Sunday, March 03, 2013

STIRRING THE POT (photo) & POTBOILER (old dream tanka) by Roswila



POTBOILER

why's she in this dream
and do I even care anymore?
like a potboiler
the dream ends abruptly
leaving nothing to grasp


[a tanka on a dream of 11-26-11. Although this is an old, previously unposted dream tanka, its mood fits the dreaming I did last night. Usually I can find even the slightest thread of a growing edge to a dream. Then follow that thread. But I clearly didn’t with this old dream/ku and have not been able to do so with last night’s vague dreams. Unfortunately, this dream/ku also fits too much of the waking thinking I’ve been doing for some time now. The only answer I can come up with to the question this dream tanka, last night’s dreams, and my present life pose is to quote Jung’s question: Who am I that this should happen to me? Put another way, keep the focus on the self. Yes, clearly (or rather, not so clearly) a lot of projecting is going on. I’m also struck now by the underlying meaning of the term “potboiler” – to boil the pot, i.e. to provide one’s livelihood. No insight leaps out at me but I think it’s worth contemplating a bit later when I have time. Photo “Stirring the Pot” 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.