Roswila's Dream & Poetry Realm

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

Saturday, November 16, 2013

CRIMP IN THE WORKS (photo art) & THERE'S NO GOING BACK (dream narrative) by Roswila


THERE'S NO GOING BACK

I'm not the only one stuck down in this subway
by the token gates, but not because we don't
know where we want to go or how to get there
but because the tickets we've paid for are wrong
and we can't get exchanges or refunds or even
an explanation from the officious folk pointing
at vague or inaccurate signs on the subway walls --
I feel worse for the tourist couple next to me than
for myself as we all clamber up the subway stairs
onto the street, abandoning the underground path

the city street corner rumbles with the passing
of vehicles, I turn to my father trying to explain
over the hubbub why this street map we're perusing
is wrong -- no matter it's only off by a fraction
of an inch, that fraction translates into blocks
in reality, I crankily comment -- my father smiles
indulgently, repeating that this is how street maps
are designed -- I think random walking would work
as well and be far less frustrating, my father
chooses map decoding and so we separate

I don't walk very far at all and suddenly I'm right
in front of the building I live in! I rush to get
to the haven of my apartment along the wide
sunny hall -- when I reach where my rooms
should be, nothing looks right, but this is where
they are, I mumble, as I enter an open door -- inside
is even less familiar, though nicely accoutered
and filled with tall potted plants, I back out
quickly not wanting to trespass -- but where
are my rooms? I see a hall sign saying "4th floor"
ack! I live on the 3rd so hurry off to find a staircase

but all I see is bank after bank of elevators,
not one door indicating if it's going up or down,
each lit up with endless floor buttons and barred
by crowds of people waiting to get on --
all I want is to go down one flight, and here I am
pinioned, wishing for distance from these milling
anxious folk while I wrestle, more and more
hopelessly, with a slew of unclear choices


[narrative on several dreams of 11-8-13. The subway, streets, and buildings were non-specific, but I was in my long-time former home town of New York City. However, those rooms of mine I was trying to get to felt more like those I live in here in California. (BTW, I actually live on the second floor.) The several dreams in the above narrative appear in the order I recall dreaming them. I've written in only two transitions for the sake of flow, and even those were implicit in what I remember of the dreams. I considered re-writing these as separate narratives or poems but they seem to ask to stay as one, albeit unwieldy, tapestry. One thread of which I've noted is the progression from underground, to street level, to overshooting an above ground goal and being stuck there. Photo "Crimp in the Works" (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.

Friday, November 15, 2013

WHAT GOES AROUND ... (photo art) & IT CANNOT BE KNOWN (free verse dream poem) by Roswila


IT CANNOT BE KNOWN

it cannot be known if any moment
is flying apart or coming together
or even just replete with small oddly
shaped islands afloat in mystery

unless it's framed in other moments:
on one side, by what's agreed to have happened
on the other, by what's thought will come about

these hanging islands scintillating
in the endless space of the eternal moment
can then be boxed and labeled at last
by the twin unrealities of memory and belief


[free verse poem on a dream of 11-14-14. This was a rather convoluted "thinking" dream. The poem above shares all its elements but the dream kept going round and round, over and over the various relationships without getting to the "point" of it all for quite some time, or so it seems on recall. Also, the image I saw in the dream was very similar to my photo above, "What Goes Around..." (4-14-13), which was worked on the day before this dream.]

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.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

THROAT SINGERS (photo art) & ONLY IMAGINING (dream tanka/two-liner) by Roswila


ONLY IMAGINING

the wind instrument
with a large ceramic bowl
challenges my skill
but, hey, I play didjeridus
I'll get music from this

but try after try leaves me only imagining
what its intriguing hollow might produce


[a tanka capped by a two-liner on a dream of 11-13-13. I do actually have and play didjeridus. Photo art "Throat Singers" by Roswila; throat singing is another term for overtone singing/chanting and one can get clear high overtones from the deep sounds of a didjeridu (though I've not found it easy).]

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.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

AGITATION (photo art) & DIRTY LAUNDRY (dream tanka/two-liner) by Roswila


DIRTY LAUNDRY

we both clearly want
to do laundry before the doors
get locked for the night
our eyes meet, irritation
tumbling silently in the air

as usual I back off, she can have the time left,
who wants to do this pile of laundry anyway


[a tanka capped by a two-liner on a dream of 11-12-13. Yup, this about says it right now. I'm sooo tired of all the dirty laundry in my life -- both literal and figurative -- and how it just keeps coming back. And that's only partly a joke. (Hey, we Capricorns are supposed to be good at initiating, not so much at maintenance.) Maybe someday I'll reach enlightenment and embrace the joy of laundry. Yeah, right, like that'll ever happen. :-D I'll hasten to add that this little dream is about much more than laundry (of any kind); it's also about interpersonal conflicts. Photo art "Agitation" (9-7-13) 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.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

THE LIGHTHOUSE (photo art) & TWO REASONS WHY NOT (free verse dream poem) by Roswila


TWO REASONS WHY NOT
(two separate dreams from one night)

I

a little young, maybe, to be the father
of this delightful tow-headed boy,
and younger yet to be a King
but here he is, this tall handsome man,
and more surprising, the fiery friction
between us as we embrace -- the heat
continues to rise as he whispers
in my ear "This would be so much more
if I needn't watch over my son right now"

II

he drives through the high water
flooding the beachside parking lot
and stops, struggling to open his door
against the engulfing water that briefly
backs off in fractious waves
what's this old King doing here?
he's easy on the eyes and his stand
by his water swamped car not only assured
but compelling, yet somehow it's clear
he's not here for any one of us women
so acutely drawn to him, but more
like a storm-weathered lighthouse
to warn us where not to go


[free verse dream poem on two separate dreams of 11-6-13. Yet more Tarot dreams; I'm delighted given, as I've said before here, there's been a dearth of Tarot images in my dreams over the years. Although in these dreams they were not explicitly Tarot cards, it was definitely so implied. Especially when I noted on waking that they each brought an element (fire in the first and water in the second) with them. Making the first the King of Wands:


And the second the King of Cups:


BTW, I don't relate to these dreams as necessarily being about male relationships that I have or had or lack or even want in my life. But more as aspects of my animus -- in Jungian psychology a woman's male within that, among other functions, can act as a spiritual guide. I read somewhere, too, that it is often represented by multiple male figures. Which certainly has been reflected in my dreams over the years. Photo art "The Lighthouse" (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.

Monday, November 11, 2013

ESCAPE VELOCITY (photo art) & THE UNLOCKED DOOR (dream narrative) by Roswila


THE UNLOCKED DOOR

the door's been unlocked
by a most unlikely person --
one of those who's supposed
to keep us from escaping
and who helped imprison me
and my young male friend
in this small bare room
to begin with -- I turn off
the lights fearful of being
caught before we can get away
and rush to pack my things --
I rummage blindly in my dresser,
grabbing fists full of my bras
and panties, not even attempting
to select the best to take, simply
shoving them in a pillowcase
but then decide to drop them all
and just vamoose -- why take
the time, and weigh myself down
with all these belongings, it's only
stuff anyway and that door
won't stay unlocked forever


[narrative on a dream of 11-4-13. Photo "Escape Velocity" (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.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

INCEPTION (photo art) & I DON'T ... (dream narrative) by Roswila


I DON'T...

he just won't accept that I don't want to resume
a friendship -- but it would require too much time
and effort and I trust my intuition that nothing
much has changed between us, too many re-
connections with others gone awry attest to this
-- is it them -- or me -- or some combination?
I don't care anymore and here he is on the other
end of the phone! I don't want to offend him
but also don't want to be encouraging --
so how do I get off this call gently and swiftly,
I have a life to get on with, I don't need
this distraction from my hard-won and
difficult to maintain focus -- and I really
don't want to have to deal with him being so nice,
so reasonable -- so much so that all I can infer
from the shadows behind his bright voice
are accusations of my selfishness, a refusal
to risk opening my heart again


[narrative on a dream of 11-7-13. I'm still having trouble with what to call my dream pieces like the above that are unpoetic. Calling them poems is clearly problematic, no matter how I try to justify that term. However, they aren't simply transcripts of the dream either. I work assiduously to organize them, to choose just the right words, to decide what to leave in or exclude, etc. I.e., I work exactly as I do with those that wind up more obviously poems. I'm not all that familiar with prose poems, though from what I do know, suspect they don't fit in that category either. So I'm going to give a try at calling them dream narratives. And last, a note on this dream above: It's entire point for me is in those final words "a refusal to risk opening my heart again." All the rest is the dream ego defending against that perceived need. Photo art "Inception" (11-9-13) 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.