IN THE BALANCE (photo) & GARAGE SALE IN FULL COLOR (dream tanka series) by Roswila

GARAGE SALE IN FULL COLOR

all the shoppers'
babies loll around the garden
in rainbow colors,
one all in white already
talking, but only to herself

* * *

I sadly return
the iridescent blue St. Mary
medal to the box
she'd only let me wear it
to advertise it for sale

* * *

in the huge roll
of 1950's posters
one stunner:
bright pink with an aqua sheen,
achingly beautiful

* * *

I make an actual
painting by imagining it
stroke by thoughtful stroke
the last mind paint applied:
a yellow parting the shadows


[tanka series on a series of dream images of 9-28-14. It's very unusual for me to see even one color in a night's dreams. So this series of colors, starting with a group of them, is extremely unusual. In fact, I can't recall an evening of dreams with so many colors. (I do often just know what color something is, but not see its color.) There are several clues in this series that a connecting theme is my mother, Mary, who died when I was ten. However, I believe here she's also a poignant metaphor. As this dream (among other things) seems to be about how to embrace that all things change and pass. And that there is much beauty along the way. Photo "In the Balance" (10-5-09 7313v3) 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.