THORNY SITUATION (photo) & TRAPPED (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

TRAPPED

she keeps subtly picking at me but for once
I don't react, not wanting to be blamed yet
again for starting a fight. And then it's just
too much and I give her what she wants
but never owns up to: an argument.
I escalate it, inch by cautious inch, after all
she doesn't give me much to grab on to
and I'm still hoping I'll regain full control
of my mouth. I even start to walk away
but suddenly find myself genuinely amused
enough to laugh out loud, saying I'm deeply
tickled by this old pattern we play out,
again and again, and what does she think?
It's a relief to have spoken up, yet as usual
when I've taken a chance she makes no
response at all, but just turns on her
heel, tossing off over her shoulder:
"I'll catch that mouse that's been raiding
our pantry, as I'm sure you noticed..."
no, I hadn't and I know she knows that...
ah well, I shrug and shake off the sticky
envy that it seems to work so well for her:
all this building of better mousetraps


[free verse poem on a dream of 12-5-13. Can we spell "shadow work," children? Also, "co-dependent"? And, lastly (at least for now) "projection"? Photo "Thorny Situation" (2-3-10 19347ev2) by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, monoku, free verse, dream narratives -- 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 or narrative 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. I now tend to "show" (the dream story) 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 also pretty much applies to my free verse dream poems as well. As to what I have begun calling dream narratives, they are a different animal, probably most akin to prose poems.

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.

THE INSPECTION (photo art) & BEDEVILED (dream tanka & two-liner) by Roswila

BEDEVILED

she obviously
doesn't like how I sort
the piles of laundry,
peering over my shoulder
with barely disguised disdain

be off, ye little devil, go gossip as you do
'bout everyone's dirty laundry but your own


[one tanka capped by a two-liner on a dream of 12-4-13. Photo art "The Inspection" (4-10-13 12434v3) by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, monoku, free verse, dream narratives -- 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 or narrative 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. I now tend to "show" (the dream story) 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 also pretty much applies to my free verse dream poems as well. As to what I have begun calling dream narratives, they are a different animal, probably most akin to prose poems.

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.

FOUND ACE OF CUPS (photo) & A CARING INQUIRY (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

A CARING INQUIRY

Dream One

my roommate invites a very sick
mutual friend to move in with us
"for the duration," sick bed, medical
equipment and all, so we can take
care of her -- and without asking me
what I think of this huge commitment
and massive re-arrangement of our
lives -- it's all too clear she has no
idea what it all requires, but aware-
ness begins to dawn on her as we
push a hospital bed into the already
crowded living room, while I know
way too well how this will go:
the work and caring demanded
even as one does not know if it's
a labor toward recovery, or
a comforted passing


Dream Two

she leaves her two small kids to fend
for themselves at the baseball game --
true, she gave them money for ice
cream cones to their delight and
the older of the two, a pert blond
girl, seems dutiful but the crowds
at these games can get awfully
rowdy -- these two with their now
sticky sweet faces and hands may
not be my responsibility but I think
until their mother returns I'll just
keep my eye on them
instead of the ball


Dream Three

OK, so now the hunt for the best metaphors
for the dreams starts in a dream! the first search
turns up two full cups of water on a high window
ledge silhouetted in the morning light; the second,
one of those cups emptied to water the plants
on a rod iron stand below: two steps forward
and one back even before turning over in sleep!
how many more steps can be fit into this dancing
around before waking to face the day and its work?


[free verse poem on three separate dreams of 12-3-13. On waking I actually began making the changes the dreams pointed me toward and reframing the entire process in light of the "Ace of Cups" (associating to the Tarot card often read to be about love). Photo "Found Ace of Cups" (5-27-11 11021e) by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, monoku, free verse, dream narratives -- 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 or narrative 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. I now tend to "show" (the dream story) 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 also pretty much applies to my free verse dream poems as well. As to what I have begun calling dream narratives, they are a different animal, probably most akin to prose poems.

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.

EDGY (photo) & IMPRESSIONS (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

IMPRESSIONS

all these dreams of the past!
so many they blur together
as if seen through a window
bearing the slapping fingers
of a windy winter rain storm

nothing distinct, just the lack
of clarity time brings -- some
might say, a softening of the edges,
like the dappling in an impressionistic
painting on a shadowy river bank --
but I would say just more checkered
and vague reminders of losses
and failures, and little (and not
so little) meannesses, both others'
and mine to own

not so different really from now,
is it, after all? so much shuffling
and re-shuffling of cards hoping for
a better hand, or scrabbling around
trying to make the colors balance,
all packed into one fleeting window
of time: this night of dreams,
this minute at the keyboard
this moment of choice framed
by what was and will be

while compassion for this mistaken
if painterly picnic arises,
as difficult to grasp as a shadow
dancing at the edge
of an unknown universe


[free verse poem referencing an entire night of dreams, 12-2-13. As I've said here before I really like the impressionistic period in painting so it's not surprising that simile would have occurred to me as I drafted this poem. In particular I kept seeing Seurat's pointillist painting, "...La Grande Jatte" in my mind as I wrote. And I can trace just why, though it's too much to go into here. It's also outside the scope of this dream poem, if not my understanding of the night's dreams themselves as a whole. Photo "Edgy" (3-29-09 1580ev2) by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, monoku, free verse, dream narratives -- 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 or narrative 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. I now tend to "show" (the dream story) 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 also pretty much applies to my free verse dream poems as well. As to what I have begun calling dream narratives, they are a different animal, probably most akin to prose poems.

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.

TWILIGHT TIME (photo) & TICKET TO RIDE (dream tanka & two-liner) by Roswila

TICKET TO RIDE

she walks at roadside
under the semi urban
twilight, a bus ticket
in her pocket but she waves
them all to pass her by

she's sure she'll know the right bus when it comes,
maybe also learning just where she's headed


[tanka capped by two-liner of a dream of 12-1-13. I did quickly associate this dream to the old Beatle's song Ticket To Ride. I truly have no idea why I was on the road or where I was going, only that I was quite determined and it was very necessary. However, it was a pleasant walk even with all the unsurety. It was a vaguely familiar area of Queens, New York not terribly far from where I lived before I moved here to CA in 2008. Lots of different roads/highways intersect there. It's a sort of hub area that I would pass through on a bus. BTW, I do sometimes use "she" instead of "I" when writing about a dream experience. As I've talked about here before where "I" reside, so to speak, in a dream varies not only from dream to dream but within a dream. And this dream was additionally both an inner "I" experience and a viewing of the scene as if it were a movie. Ultimately, I think the "she" perspective works best here in getting across at least a bit of the dream atmosphere. (LOL! What a lot of fussing over a small dream/poem.) Photo "Twilight Time" (7-28-12, 12093ev3) by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, monoku, free verse, dream narratives -- 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 or narrative 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. I now tend to "show" (the dream story) 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 also pretty much applies to my free verse dream poems as well. As to what I have begun calling dream narratives, they are a different animal, probably most akin to prose poems.

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.

THE FLAME TREE (photo art) & HAIKU TRIO (non-dream) by Roswila

HAIKU TRIO

a child halts
in the shade of the old elm
dripping ice pop

* * * *

the only color
in the elm's soft shadows
a bright blue bottle

** * *

from the shade
of the spreading old elm
street light glow


[three non-dream haiku from around the turn of the century (every time I use that expression it gives me a giggle) and maybe even older. The large old elm referenced in all three of these haiku grew at one time across the street from the apartment I lived in for 23 years in Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. I was deeply saddened the day it was cut down to make more room for a bland brick condo. Fortunately, I could still enjoy the ballet of the ginkos populating the narrow island in that street. Photo art "The Flame Tree" (8-26-13, 006v3) by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS): The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, monoku, free verse, dream narratives -- 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 or narrative 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. I now tend to "show" (the dream story) 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 also pretty much applies to my free verse dream poems as well. As to what I have begun calling dream narratives, they are a different animal, probably most akin to prose poems.

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.