LOST IN THE WOODS (photo art) & BABE IN THE WOODS (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

BABE IN THE WOODS

so, since you've been working here
a great many years maybe you can
tell me what I should do about this:

I'm still so wet around the ears
my earrings could slide right off,
and up comes this handsome guy
and starts instructing me
to organize a luncheon conference

now, I think, is this my supervisor?
I've not even yet been filled in on who's
who and what's what, just tossed into
this new job to sink or swim

well now, I think, do I ask him who he is
and risk being seen as ignorant or (gasp!)
as uncooperative? or do I bite this unknown
bullet and let him be the boss of me

I take a shot and let him have his way
he goes on and on as if I were a tape
recorder and could capture every syllable
no questions asked, and even, I tell you,
if I were a recorder I still needed to ask
questions, to fill in the gaps where sense
and order got run over

but, nothing doing, no matter my attempts
to "hit the pause button" he still rambles on,
thoroughly expecting a noon luncheon
conference to appear, clearly accustomed
to having his wishes manifested
without hesitation or hitch

so, this is what I want to ask you now:
do you know who our CEO is,
the person to seek clarification from,
and failing that, do you know
if there's a procedure manual for this new
endlessly complicated position I find myself in,
like a babe abandoned in a tangled wood?


[free verse poem on a dream of 10-18-13. Photo art "Lost in the Woods" (9-23-13) by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, monoku, free verse, etc. -- 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 dream poem is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. It 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 (the specific forms of dreamku, tanka, two-liners and monoku) you may do here, that in the beginning I stressed "showing, not telling." However, this 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). This pretty much applies to free verse dream poems as well.

For more in-depth exploration of the dreamku forms specifically (and one post in which I also address my photo choices):

-- 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 connections & other blogs: Charter Member of the United Haiku and Tanka Society (UHTS); ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

BOUFFANT BLUES (photo art) & THE ROYAL BLUE HANDBAG (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

THE ROYAL BLUE HANDBAG

if she can so clearly recall
dropping her royal blue handbag
in that subway car could you
please say why she didn't just
make that long bend over
right away and pick it up

rather than following along
with the disembarking rush hour
crowd like some *bleeping* sheep,
leaving her puffy drawstring
bag on the cracked and stained
floor in a deflated heap

and when she quickly realized
her inexplicable actions, how then
can boarding a train going back
toward where she came from
unite her again with her most
favorite carry-all

the urge to return to the place
of a loss may be hard to resist
and even natural

but no loss is ever there
they only live within


[free verse poem on a dream of 10-16-13. Really, just another way of saying "You can't go home again." Though, as with all dreams, there are some other levels to this little dream as well. Like the associations I had on waking to "royal" and "being puffed up." Photo "Bouffant Blues" (9-11-09) by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, monoku, free verse, etc. -- 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 dream poem is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. It 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 (the specific forms of dreamku, tanka, two-liners and monoku) you may do here, that in the beginning I stressed "showing, not telling." However, this 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). This pretty much applies to free verse dream poems as well.

For more in-depth exploration of the dreamku forms specifically (and one post in which I also address my photo choices):

-- 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 connections & other blogs: Charter Member of the United Haiku and Tanka Society (UHTS); ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

AMBERLINGS (photo art) & THINGS PAST (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

THINGS PAST

what a mess! the dashboard
of her car is littered with trash
from previous road trips

amber beer bottles almost
completely obscure the view
across the hood to the far wall
of the dingy garage

I reach around to toss the garbage
into the back seat while the driver,
a long time woman friend of mine,
clambers in behind the wheel,
clearly in quite a hurry

I'm even more astonished to see
yet more empty amber bottles
poking out at all angles
from paper bags and wrappers
of all kinds on the back seat floor

I stop tossing, concerned
that bottle will shatter bottle,
creating an endless mess

and ignoring the driver's impatient
muttering I worry over what can
be done with all these hollow
shapes of things past

all these holdings echoing
their own emptiness
like hardened habits


[free verse poem on a dream of 10-15-13. I saw the color amber in the dream. It's rather unusual for me to see color in a dream. I usually just know what color something is. And of those few times I do recall seeing color it's not ever been amber. My immediate waking association to "amber" was to the fossilized resin. I.e., something really old. Photo art "Amberlings" (6-15-11) by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, monoku, free verse, etc. -- 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 dream poem is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. It 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 (the specific forms of dreamku, tanka, two-liners and monoku) you may do here, that in the beginning I stressed "showing, not telling." However, this 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). This pretty much applies to free verse dream poems as well.

For more in-depth exploration of the dreamku forms specifically (and one post in which I also address my photo choices):

-- 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 connections & other blogs: Charter Member of the United Haiku and Tanka Society (UHTS); ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

DARK DREAMS RISING (photo) & KALIFORMATION (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

KALIFORMATION

one can't find any new dreams
in this land of Kaliformation
only constant daylight
where everyone passes the time
standing on endless lines
waiting to view imported dreams
once the doors are shut
and the curtains drawn

she wanders up and down
the endless and forever
movie lines of Kaliformation
looking for a spot, any spot,
any place to stand that's fitting

but waiting to see dreams
from other lands re-worked,
re-played, exaggerated
is not her goal, not at all,
not here where over wrought,
second-hand dreams are the only
ones acknowledged

no, she's looking to interview
all these folk waiting in line,
to hold a recording microphone
to each pair of lips and capture
what tumbles forth when asked:

what do you imagine you would dream
if there were any dreams left in Kaliformation?


[free verse poem on a dream of 10-14-13. The dream actually began by playing around with a line from some song I vaguely recall about it never raining in California. It was a bit of "day residue" as we could really use rain here right now. Re: the title -- That spelling of "Kali" was in the dream and I immediately associated it on waking to the Hindu Goddess whose name can mean "time," "beyond time," or "death." And the ending of "formation" was dreamed as a fitting response to "Kali." Photo "Dark Dreams Rising" by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, monoku, free verse, etc. -- 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 dream poem is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. It 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 (the specific forms of dreamku, tanka, two-liners and monoku) you may do here, that in the beginning I stressed "showing, not telling." However, this 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). This pretty much applies to free verse dream poems as well.

For more in-depth exploration of the dreamku forms specifically (and one post in which I also address my photo choices):

-- 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 connections & other blogs: Charter Member of the United Haiku and Tanka Society (UHTS); ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

FOUR WAYS TO LOOK AT IT (photo art) & ON THE THRESHHOLD (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

ON THE THRESHHOLD

that was exceedingly dumb, getting naked
like that in front of my celebrity friend!
I sure as shootin' won't be so oblivious
to his presence this time

besides I've bought a sack full of snacks
for the night that I need to unload
and sort through, as he sets up the movie

what's more I haven't yet figured out
what all those babies in cribs
floating through the backroom
are about, especially that giggling
dark haired little girl who tumbles
around her crib and clambers up
and down the side bars
like an artless, carefree monkey

I stand in the doorway between
the movie/snack room, and the baby
space, neither direction compelling
me to walk into them, both bearing
only the faint luster of the possible

it's up to me to choose
which way to go


[free verse poem on a dream of 10-13-13. Photo art "Four Ways to Look At It" (6-22-13) by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, monoku, free verse, etc. -- 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 dream poem is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. It 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 (the specific forms of dreamku, tanka, two-liners and monoku) you may do here, that in the beginning I stressed "showing, not telling." However, this 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). This pretty much applies to free verse dream poems as well.

For more in-depth exploration of the dreamku forms specifically (and one post in which I also address my photo choices):

-- 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 connections & other blogs: Charter Member of the United Haiku and Tanka Society (UHTS); ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.

ME AND MY SHADOW (photo) & BEING (non-dream free verse poem) by Roswila

BEING

casting its shadow before it a bee
lowers into the bright heart
of a yellow rose
both sameness
and difference
eclipsed
by the sun fed center


[non-dream free verse poem written 5-12; revised 10-13. May I be forgiven for enjoying the pun in the title? In any case, I'm posting this poem more as an excuse to use this new crop of the accompanying photo than because I think it's any "great shakes." Photo "Me and My Shadow" (10-1-11) by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, monoku, free verse, etc. -- 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 dream poem is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. It 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 (the specific forms of dreamku, tanka, two-liners and monoku) you may do here, that in the beginning I stressed "showing, not telling." However, this 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). This pretty much applies to free verse dream poems as well.

For more in-depth exploration of the dreamku forms specifically (and one post in which I also address my photo choices):

-- 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 connections & other blogs: Charter Member of the United Haiku and Tanka Society (UHTS); ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.