CONSTELLATING (photo) & COUP DE GRACE (dreamku series) by Roswila

COUP DE GRACE

their assignation's
set for an old railroad car --
an open secret
among cheating married folk
it weights the new night

she walks down the aisle
wondering about privacy
(the sun's not long set
and already the car's filling
with married folk and their lovers)

not to mention lack
of room -- but she supposes free
and hidden away
count for a great deal among
those avoiding their spouses

her married lover's
rather late so she wanders
outside to stargaze
why is she, a single woman,
even getting into this?

the cooling night air feels like a caress
on her bare breasts -- her lover arrives

plans have changed, it seems,
and he can't even drive her
to her home right now,
he'll have to return for her
sometime later in the night

ah well, whether this
is his gentle way of backing
out or not, she now
finds her own mind made up,
and wraps her arms around herself

she won't mind waiting for her ride
while this night dips and tosses up stars

the coup de grace? one starless shape against
the sky: the empty silhouette of the railroad car


[several tanka with three two-lines on a dream of 7-12-13. Although I've never been involved with a married man I have been entangled with men who were unavailable in other ways (such as emotionally). What I find intriguing here is that my way home is via what got me to this place to begin with. Also, that I can't go home right away. Almost as if I really need to get the message of the dream first. I should also stress that at one level, this dream also addresses any sort of relationship (e.g. friendships, on-the-job, familial, etc.). Like abandoned railroad cars, many just can't go anywhere. And it seems that, for now, I'm having to wait outside all of this before finding my way home again. Thank heavens for the stars! (In part, a metaphor for imagination.) Photo "Constellating" 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 relate to 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.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

You may also note in any further reading on dreamku you may do, that in the beginning I stressed "showing, not telling." However, that has been changing for some time now. I now tend to "show" (the dream narrative) and cap if off with a "tell" (some reaction and/or insight I've had to the dream as I was writing about it).

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.

FALLING INTO FOREVER (photo) & [untitled] (dreamku) by Roswila

I thread extension cords
throughout the walls
worn down

[re-post of a 2006 dreamku. Photo "Falling Into Forever" 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 relate to 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.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

You may also note in any further reading on dreamku you may do, that in the beginning I stressed "showing, not telling." However, that has been changing for some time now. I now tend to "show" (the dream narrative) and cap if off with a "tell" (some reaction and/or insight I've had to the dream as I was writing about it).

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.

YOUR BRAIN ON DREAMS (photo) & ALL TOO WELCOME (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

ALL TOO WELCOME

"it's still the same old story..."
but no fight for glory and not even
for love -- it became a matter
of dignity long ago, once the first
matches were lost then lost again

just as this time around dignity
demanded dropping out of the fray
altogether -- what's vaguely surprising
however is their investment
in keeping their romance secret

as if one cannot see what's right
in front of one's eyes -- small
satisfaction, yes, but satisfaction
nevertheless to know that they now
live in shared ignorance

that they nurse delusions and hopes
and share the false camaraderie
of pity -- yes, small satisfaction
but in a life grown suddenly
smaller sadly all too welcome


[free verse poem, inspired by a dream of 7-10-13. Photo "Your Brain on Dreams" 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 relate to 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.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

You may also note in any further reading on dreamku you may do, that in the beginning I stressed "showing, not telling." However, that has been changing for some time now. I now tend to "show" (the dream narrative) and cap if off with a "tell" (some reaction and/or insight I've had to the dream as I was writing about it).

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.

BUILDING INTO THE BLUE (photo) & HEAVY TRAFFIC (dreamku series) by Roswila

HEAVY TRAFFIC

midnight rolls softly
along Manhattan* streets
but traffic's quite dense
as if it were still a work day
and all the rushing necessary

chrome lightly sparkles
on dark automobiles of
many vintages,
under moonlight that dis-
courages blaring horns

through this scene, so much
like an old silent movie,
my father turns left
he's such a careful driver
but he's going the wrong way!

all traffic's coming at us, but he
avoids collisions with casual skill

a young cop stops us
it's not actually a one-way
street as I'd figured
but it does have only
one lane going our way

and not only is it
way over at the right side curb
but it's very narrow
"just thirteen inches" says he,
being oh-so-exact

now I ask you,
what use is a car lane
that's so narrow,
unless it's really for bikes
or one is driving a clown car

of course, this entire
dream is like a surreal circus:
me being driven
by my deceased father down
streets thousands of miles away

I thank the blonde cop --
my father drives on, just like
Wrong Way Corrigan**


[several tanka with one two-liner and a capping dreamku. *Manhattan -- borough of New York City where I spent virtually all of my working life, at one job or another. Sometimes if felt as if I spent as much time getting to/from jobs as I did actually working on them and given train delays some days that was true. **Wrong Way Corrigan: my father used this to mean someone who didn't know which end was up. However, after reading this Wikipedia entry I see it really more means someone who's "dumb like a fox." And, yes, this dream became somewhat lucid (knowing one is dreaming while one is dreaming) by the last tanka. Photo "Building Into the Blue" 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 relate to 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.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

You may also note in any further reading on dreamku you may do, that in the beginning I stressed "showing, not telling." However, that has been changing for some time now. I now tend to "show" (the dream narrative) and cap if off with a "tell" (some reaction and/or insight I've had to the dream as I was writing about it).

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.

THE WILD BLUE YONDER (photo) & FALLING ROCK ZONE (dreamku series) by Roswila

FALLING ROCK ZONE

my heavens and stars!
so this is where climbing up
the carpet-road leads:
an endless expanse of tall
needle shaped boulders

my male companion
and another vague guy
can't contain their glee
each leaps off the cliff side
onto a sharp tipped boulder

shamed into jumping
I join their frightening
aerial display:
the narrow needles keep
shifting beneath our feet

first, the vague guy takes
another leap, this time off
his rough pointed perch
into the air surrounded by
streams of slowly falling rocks

then, encouraging
me to follow, my companion
takes the same huge leap
I have no choice but to jump
as the boulders start crumbling

more rocks rain slowly
around us -- I instantly
adopt a strategy:
stand on a large falling rock
and ride it all the way down

my companion, though,
wends his own way rockless,
dancing down the air --
let go of the drugs, he shouts,
you won't need a rock either

let go of the addiction to solid ground, I think,
why not! in a day of leaps, what's one more?


[seven tanka topped by a two-liner on a dream of 7-5-13. Photo "The Wild Blue Yonder" 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 relate to 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.

Also please note that a dreamku is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. A dreamku is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.

You may also note in any further reading on dreamku you may do, that in the beginning I stressed "showing, not telling." However, that has been changing for some time now. I now tend to "show" (the dream narrative) and cap if off with a "tell" (some reaction and/or insight I've had to the dream as I was writing about it).

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.