FRIABLE (photo art) & THE STAND OFF (dream narrative) by Roswila

THE STAND OFF

at the long luncheon table, crowded in on both sides
and mixed together, sit invited guests and hosts,
the room so narrow little space remains
for any further entries or even exits

the head host's pride fairly beams
from her still attractive old lady face as she
addresses the gathering seeming to say "look at all
the poor, the mentally fragile we've gathered here
to feed" and starts to read a poem
in support of these disempowered folk

across from her perches one of the mentally fragile,
a young slim woman who speaks up in a steady,
moderately pitched voice interrupting the host's reading,
saying she'd really like to thank the generous woman
who helped her at the last charity dinner

the host coolly interrupts in turn trying to put off
the guest's extemporaneous speech, noting tersely
that time for thank you's will come later

the guest will not be deterred and continues to express
her gratitude, her eyes downcast as if maintaining
her separate space, no eye connection to rope
her in, to tie her tongue

and then the host tells the guest
they should take this outside,
a faint collective gasp rising along both sides
of the table from otherwise carefully silent mouths,
as if to say: does she really mean what that implies?

but it quickly becomes apparent that the guest,
even with tables and chairs shifted, cannot sidle out
from behind the table, nor apparently would she
if she could as she's still not finished
her thorough and determined sharing

especially not now that she's aware of the host's
belligerence, making her own need to stand
her ground paramount: she will not
be pushed around, no, not ever again

the stand off between host and guest stretches on
and on like a tensely vibrating wire, irritating
each person present and knotting them together
in a tight unaccommodating community


[free verse poem on a dream of 1-27-14 (or maybe better called a dream narrative? or prose poem?). Although I see echoes of this "community" in actual human communities, this dream is really addressing aspects in my own psyche. And I do feel I'm at a stand off right now. However, that's oddly enough a relief. Like the calm before the storm. Of course, I can't really know in what way this tension will resolve itself until it does. I can only keep reminding myself to hold the process in self-compassion. Photo art "Friable" (5-9-12 11935v8) 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. (This all applies to any of the non-dream poems posted here, too.)

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.