SINGING IN THE RAIN (photo art) & THE SITUATION (dream tanka pair w/two-liner) by Roswila

THE SITUATION

the big boss tells me
to quickly cut a small check
to my Dad's order
that he deserves much more
but it's all the budget can bear

this situation's
completely confusing,
the boss: a stranger
my Dad: alive and young
the office: no longer extant

but I'm told my father sang his heart out
so I cut the check and give the man his due


[two tanka capped by a two-liner on a dream of 7-7-14. This was dreamed the same night as "Prelude" (posted here 7-8-14) and is the only other one I recalled out of many dreams that night. And, yes, it was vaguely lucid at the point recounted in the second tanka. The office was one I worked in many years ago, and is no longer in existence. And my father was a singer by profession most of his adult life. However, I suspect he's symbolic here of other folk (not necessarily singers) as well, both past and present. That boss? A dream fabrication as far as I know. And he may actually be the most important aspect of this dream, for various reasons too numerous to list/explain. That neither the payee nor that employment exist anymore, maybe that's saying there's no way to pay some debts other than to acknowledge them. And that I might do best not to forget where I came from and how I got to where I am today. Note of 7-13-13: Since drafting this poem and comments, I've come to a more encompassing awareness pointed to in this dream/poem. Very simply put, it has to do with the issue of how well do any of us hear others. I have this sense that we all "sing our hearts" out in this life, one way or another. This led to a bout of overwhelmingly sad compassion. Photo art "Singing in the Rain" (5-3-14 6646ev4) 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....".

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‘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.