BY A DIFFERENT LIGHT (photo art) & THE ONLY PATH (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

THE ONLY PATH

the two boys pursue revenge,
a verbal campaign of blaming

it's an easy one to silence
even as I bear the burden
of deep empathy with their
denied pain and loss

the smaller of the two boys
ultimately escapes my grasp,
jumping off the dock
into the murky lake

the taller squirms before me
dark hair shining and darker eyes
avoiding mine as I hold him
surely by his shoulders

"It doesn't help," I say softly
"no amount of blame, even
of yourself, will ease the pain,
you have to live it through"

I want to go on, telling him
of my mother's death
when I was young but he
backs away like a small
armored truck, wheels spinning
on a determined course of escape

my hands, wiser than my heart,
release him without a fuss,
my words to him echoing
in my ears with each footstep
as he stomps away

the late afternoon sun reflects
too brightly on the surface
of the lake, forcing my gaze
to the inner path,
the only one
that's mine to modify


[free verse poem on a dream of 12-27-13. Photo art "By A Different Light" (9-22-09 7090e) by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS):

But first, a request: please let me know of any typos or other sorts of blunders in my posts. As my eyes age I'm finding more mistakes are creeping into what I put up here no matter how many times I proof it all. Thanks for any help!

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.

WANNABE BLOSSOM (photo art) & ENVY (free verse non-dream poem) by Roswila

ENVY

she twirls the pink plastic rose
between her right thumb
and forefinger

this at least
is impenetrable

draws only dust
to its dull thorns
and rigid petals

suggests neither forward
nor backward
from its perpetual now

bears nothing of the losses
that like an iron maiden
open and close
open and close
on the living


[non-dream based poem written in June of 1985 and slightly revised December 2013. I remember dreams from last night but just don't feel moved to write about them. Guess those vampires and/or the King and his varlet from yesterday's dream poem have got me in their collective grip. That's only partly a joke, by the way. Some sort of funk rolled in right after a lovely Christmas dinner with good friends. Anyway, this poem is one of many I've revised in some way in the past few weeks. And I still have a full folder of others awaiting their turn to get shaped up, some of which have been revised many times before. "Envy" may not even be finished, though it's a great deal closer to feeling complete than it has been since I first wrote it almost 25 years ago. Not to mention that its mood is a fairly accurate reflection of the funk I'm in. Photo art "Wannabe Blossom" (7-11-13 005v6) by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS):

But first, a request: please let me know of any typos or other sorts of blunders in my posts. As my eyes age I'm finding more mistakes are creeping into what I put up here no matter how many times I proof it all. Thanks for any help!

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.

ON THE PATH TO OZ (photo art) & THE SECRET TURNING (dialogue/poem) by Roswila

THE SECRET TURNING
(a play for two voices)

"Yes, m'Lord," the varlet bows whispering,
"we tried to turn her but much to our surprise
she's already a vampire"

the young untried King whispers back
"This news is both delightful as it fits
right in with my plan to hold ultimate power,
and puzzling for who other than we are turning
my courtiers into creatures of delicious evil?"

"...and more puzzling yet," the King mutters,
"why hasn't that Good Witch Glinda interfered
in her sappy high-toned way?"

the varlet bows again, then leans close
to the King "That's not Good's way ... She
lets humans first do everything they possibly
can to take care of themselves, then makes
a last minute rescue ..."

"Of course," the varlet adds in a snarky whisper
"that means Good often arrives only once
the human's pleas boil over and too late at that"

the King snorts derisively, then looks around
to be sure they're not being overheard,
"Ah, then, we must allow and aid whatever
hidden turning is going on until the needed
critical mass is reached ..."

bowing even deeper the varlet responds, "Our
biggest chore for now will not be aiding
and abetting the secret turning of the court
into vampires, but to curb the tendency
of those thus darkly empowered to boast"


[free verse dialogue/poem on a dream of 12-25-13. It did feel much like part of a play, set in a vaguely English medieval court. None of the dialogue above is verbatim from the dream (as far as I know). But the concepts and the relationship between the King and vassal are accurately recorded (again, as closely as I remember). Vampires do show up in my dreams occasionally, but not in scary ways. Nor am I disturbed by the dreams on waking recall. Just curious as to what the image of the vampire represents in any particular dream, as it does vary from dream to dream. E.g., among many sorts of "meanings," it can reference seduction in one and social pressure in another. BTW, Glinda is the Good Witch (of the North, if I remember correctly) in the story/movie "The Wizard of Oz" and was referenced in the dream. Photo art "On the Path to Oz" (3-10-10 10046 ev2) by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS):

But first, a request: please let me know of any typos or other sorts of blunders in my posts. As my eyes age I'm finding more mistakes are creeping into what I put up here no matter how many times I proof it all. Thanks for any help!

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.

FROM THE HEART (photo art) by Roswila

MAY YULETIDE BE JOYOUS FOR YOU AND YOURS!

No poem for today. Just this greeting "From the Heart" [5-9-12 11913v9] by Roswila.

(This is one those photos in which the colors aren't true to what I see when viewing it in other programs. On my desktop, on my photo blog, in Photoshop, and in Microsoft Picture Manager these colors are more toward the blue end of the spectrum. Go figure. I have this same issue with a difference in colors on my photo blog sometimes. But in this instance given my love of lavender/purple it's no problem at all.)

PLEASE NOTE: in most browsers you can click on the above image for a larger version. Also, the photo accompanying a post is not necessarily meant to illustrate it, but to reflect some small, even slant aspect of the verse -- similar to Japanese haiga (illustrated haiku).

There are many other sorts of posts on this blog. I indicate which are about or influenced by dreams. Some non dream focused posts are book reviews, "regular" poems (some by other writers, as the above is), scifaiku, writing exercises, Tarot haiku, photos, haiga, and so on. However, most of those are in much older posts. There's a listing by month going back to early 2006, at the end of the sidebar.

* * * *

'til next time, keep dreaming,

[aka: Patricia Kelly]
**** If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under AView my complete profile@) **** My other blogs: ROSWILA'S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA'S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT, digital photos. ****

THE OFFERING (photo art) & HIGH FLYING (dream haibun) by Roswila

HIGH FLYING

the eight year old girl
sneaks off the star ship before
other passengers
or even crew, determined
to explore on her own

the queen of this strange
planet greets the girl in full
formal regalia:
an ice blue, one story tall,
ballooning silk gown

the girl laughs lightly
at the pairs of men arrayed
by the gown's long seams
to pull its weight along
beneath the ensconced queen

she's further amused
when the queen extends a hand
down to her for shaking
undaunted by the distance
the girl steps up to the gown's hem:

overshadowed seed
sprouts toward a high-flown blossom
winds begin to stir


[tanka series capped by a dreamku on a dream of 12-23-13. I'm calling this a "dream haibun" because that's what came to me as a I woke up and began to shape it in my mind. Generally speaking, a haibun is a prose paragraph, concluding with a haiku that reiterates and/or extends the prose. In this case, I wrote that ending dreamku as a haiku, i.e. realistically. As if I were seeing that scene in one of our gardens here where I live. Of course, haiku are about an actual moment, but then again, isn't a moment of imagining also actual? To complicate this more, that closing haiku is the metaphor I discovered on waking for the ending dream image of the girl stepping up to the queen's hem. Maybe I needed to ground that star travelling story in familiar territory? Especially as both the star ship girl and the high-flown queen are aspects of myself. Photo art "The Offering" (4-25-12 11794ev8) by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS):

But first, a request: please let me know of any typos or other sorts of blunders in my posts. As my eyes age I'm finding more mistakes are creeping into what I put up here no matter how many times I proof it all. Thanks for any help!

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.

EMBRYONIC HEARTS (photo art) & TIMING (dreamku series) by Roswila

TIMING

our first kiss fogs up
the glass of my terrace door --
we'd stood long and long
just conversing before lips
became otherwise engaged

too soon to do more
I reluctantly end it --
draping an arm on
my shoulder he turns us to
gaze at the terrace garden

it's also too soon
for buds to appear, but there
sits a small earth-filled
pot of the tiniest deep
red rose buds I've ever seen

"I planted those last
year," he says, his accent
warming my cold feet

it may be too soon for some things (and too
late for others) but love's always right on time


[tanka series capped by a dreamku and two-liner on a dream of 12-22-13. Another New York City dream, at least in location. That door was the actual sliding glass door to my terrace. However, the man was no one I know, but I'd sure like to! Let me stress, though, this dream is about more than romance, it's a timely (pun intended) message on the constant presence of love in it's greater sense. I might even say love is only ever truly here in the present moment, where no timing at all is involved. Photo art "Embryonic Hearts" (6-25-09 2763e) by Roswila]

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DREAMKU (& PHOTOS):

But first, a request: please let me know of any typos or other sorts of blunders in my posts. As my eyes age I'm finding more mistakes are creeping into what I put up here no matter how many times I proof it all. Thanks for any help!

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.

BETWIXT & BETWEEN (photo) & WHAT SEEMS BEST (dreamku series) by Roswila

WHAT SEEMS BEST

a pile of letters
lands on my desk for review
then mailing "Pronto!"
all seems in order ... no wait,
my boss hasn't signed some yet

but she's out to lunch
(in both senses of that term
today it appears)
and of course with my bad luck
the unsigned are to big banks

whether soliciting
donations or paying bills,
the banking letters
will represent my boss to
powerful executives

and how would it look
if I were to sign her name
and initial it,
a common enough practice
but it betrays her absence

damned if I do, damned
if I don't, for even if I
meet her need for speed
and sign her name, she'll blame me
should the banks ignore these letters

ah well, since I'm always her fall guy anyway
I'll quit worrying and do what seems best to me


[five tanka with a capping two-liner on a dream of 10-26-13. BTW, it was common practice (and probably still is) during my working years for an assistant or secretary -- with her boss's permission -- to sign letters in the boss's name in his/her absence, writing her own initials after that signature. However, not usually on important correspondence because it makes clear the boss did not read and approve the letter. To this dreamku series itself: It has been in my unposted folder for two months as I've not really felt one way or the other about it. But today I'm struck by the underlying theme of "damned if I do and damned if I don't." A feeling I have had most of my adult life. Though I am getting better and better at what I do in those last two lines. Come to think of it, the dream may have been a "heads up" about a situation that was developing. (Not like the dream scenario, but with that same underlying theme.) Photo "Betwixt & Between" (4-18-10 10011e) 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.