WINDMILLS OF YOUR MIND (photo) & IT (dreamku series) by Roswila

IT

the truth slowly dawns
on my woman friend and me
that it’s been stolen –
we search my childhood haunts
thoroughly trying to find it

all we can locate
is the exact spot from which
it had been taken –
the brick walls and scruffy bushes
of the courtyard haven’t changed,

nor has the emptiness I feel and wrestle down
to the ground as always, a champ at denying

a whoop from my friend
interrupts my struggle –
she’s found the online
live cam library for just
this place, going all the way back

but our hopes are dashed –
no matter how we enter
our account number
so we can view the tapes
the last three digits are wrong

it’s sour grapes to say but we’d not know it anyway
we only grasp its theft by the hollowness it’s left


[a mix of tanka and two-liners on a dream of 3-29-13. This dreamku series continues the recent theme of my life back in New York City. It’s set in Forest Hills, Queens, by the Grand Central Parkway, where we lived when I was about age 8 to about age 12. Photo “Windmills of Your Mind” 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 A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY (photo) & BIZARRO WORLD (four dream tanka) by Roswila

BIZARRO WORLD

Jimmy’s still alive
I’m twenty-three, short, slim, sporting
a dark pixie hair cut –
he’s driving me to my job
just to spend some time with me,

all the while noting
that “Yes, you’re not married and
never have been,
but you will be and in some
ways you already are”

in what alternate
world do all these things exist?
Opposite World? or
the comic book Bizarro World
of super-heros gone bonkers?

certainly not here
in this spinning dream mind,
shaping its shadows
as if on a potter’s wheel,
a latter day Pygmalion


[four tanka on a dream of 3-29-13. Jimmy was the first of my many unrequited “loves.” He was killed when I was in my teens. I’ve not thought of him in a very long time, nor of the poem I wrote many years after his death entitled “Jimmy’s still alive” (also the first line of this dream tanka series). This dream also continues the nostalgic look at my life in Queens, NY before moving here to CA five years ago that I referenced in a couple recent posts. Photo “In A Galaxy Far, Far Away” 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.

Queens, New York El Train (photo) & "old thin soled sneakers..." (old dreamku) by Roswila

old thin soled sneakers
el train vibrations reveal
its distant approach


[old dreamku from January of 2009, revised 3-28-13. I do seem to be dealing with a bit of nostalgia for New York City these days. I have plenty of other old dreamku to choose from but this is the second one in recent days I’ve picked that references NYC. My life in (almost entirely) Queens, New York was punctuated over the years by its web of El trains. I lived very near an El, and in my earliest years in NYC just short of beneath one, in many different apartments. Image: old photo of El Train area in Woodhaven, Queens, New York (photographer unknown). Woodhaven is further east than I lived for 24 years before moving here to California. But it is nearly indistinguishable from Elmhurst, Queens beneath the elevated #7 train line on Roosevelt Avenue, which was the setting of the above dream.]

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.

FOUNT (photo) & TRIO (old dreamku) by Roswila

TRIO

he skims the surface
of the lake on his skateboard
a sudden plummet

* * * *

motorboat sounds
she quickly swims deep beneath
the floating live wires

* * * *

time after time
the nickname precedes me:
speaker of bad news


[three dreamku on three separate dreams, all written prior to 2007. Photo “Fount” 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.

SNOW ROSE (photo) & "dream of crisp green..." (old dreamku) by Roswila

dream of crisp green
edamame pods
snow shoveling sounds


[very old dreamku, sometime prior to 2006. At that time I was using the device of contrasting a dream image to my waking experience, which, of course, made for a lot of weather references. I thought of this one given all the spring snowstorms this year. The T.V. news clips bring up memories of my New York City bedroom window over the street and all the snow related activity I’d wake to in winter. Now the most I wake to here in California is wind (which can moan rather loudly in spring) or the rare thunderstorm. Photo “Snow Rose” 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.

SURFACING (photo) & THERE'S MICE & THEN THERE'S MICE (dreamku series) by Roswila

THERE’S MICE AND THEN THERE’S MICE

she sits ruminating
at the poorly lit desk space
in her living room
the computer screen glowing
in the deepening dusk

even as the thinks
for the nth time that she must
get better lighting,
something gets dragged quickly
over the tops of her feet

a mouse is stealing
her mouse! its cord still attached
like an umbilicus –
she yanks on the wriggling cord
chasing off the would be thief

now, where was she at,
what cyberspace wonderland
was she traversing

and how can she return to start where all
her trusty shortcuts must still be waiting


[three tanka and a dreamku capped by a two-liner. Dream animals in general can often represent a less or even unconscious aspect of ourselves. The twilight and poor lighting of the dream setting support this. The low light also suggests that I’m “not seeing clearly.” I think the living mouse here is actually a rather positive symbol. Although mouse symbolism specifically is extensive, I have the feeling that here it was mostly just trying to get my attention. And it would be unwelcome indeed if it were somehow suggesting that I not be doing computer work. Well, at least so much of it each day. I can also imagine any aspect feeling rather timorous about even vaguely suggesting this possibility, given how furiously attached I can be to my daily block of hours at the computer. There’s more in this dream (like those shortcuts at the end) but this is enough for now. Photo “Surfacing” 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.

PARTNERSHIP (photo) & THE FINAL TIDE (dream tanka trio) by Roswila

THE FINAL TIDE

aged ballerinas
deftly partner each other
like the moon the sea
Luna spinning round and round
Mare’s slowly ebbing edges

Mare’s blue shimmies
reflectively in tandem with
Luna’s sunset red,
reframing the passion
the moon’s pirouettes paint

fading Luna rose
and blue Mare enmeshed they glide
softly to the floor,
chiffon skirts no longer flowing
but glass still, the final tide turned


[tanka trio on a dream of 3-23-13. Photo “Partnership” 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.