SKEWED QUEUE (photo) & CLEANING UP (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

CLEANING UP

Dream One:

we've arrived at the station
where I must get off ...

what a relief! I suddenly realize
I'm not responsible for taking
all those rotten apples with me
lined up on the subway seat
like children waiting for adults
to do something, anything,
about their bad behavior

only my own baggage
and boxes require my attention
and they're almost more
than I can manage ...

yeah, I'd like not
to leave a mess behind,
even one that's not my own,
but I can handle only
so much at any given juncture


Dream Two:

both she and he need to take a bath
he slips quickly into the water,
not one to be seen as dirty
not even for a minute

but in a flash he realizes in his rush
to beat her to being squeaky clean
that she's about to see him naked

and that's almost worse
than the obfuscating crust
of crankiness and vague ill will
that brought him to the tub


[two-part free verse poem on two separate dreams of 1-31-14. Again let me stress that I relate to all the characters (animate and otherwise) in the above as different aspects of myself. Triggered by waking life relationships and situations, but nevertheless mine to own ... and clean up. That second dream ending reminds me, for instance, that a bad mood (mine, or anyone else's for that matter) can sometimes be a cover up for intense vulnerability. Photo "Skewed Queue" (5-12-10 10014e) 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.

SUNSET MUSIC (photo) & TO ONE FRIEND ABOUT ANOTHER (dream tanka pair w/two-liner) by Roswila

TO ONE FRIEND ABOUT ANOTHER

omigosh! where's my
bamboo flute walking stick?
I clearly recall
dropping it by accident
on the sidewalk back aways

I can still hear
that painful clatter but I'm
sure I picked it up ...
and no, hon, I'll just have to miss
this bus, another will come

I must go back and search for my support,
not to mention the possibility of music


[two tanka capped by a two-liner on a dream of 1-30-14. The walking stick was my actual one, which is my much relied upon cane. It's tall and made of dark bamboo. It's also a flute with a lovely deep tone, that I rarely improvise on anymore. An acquaintance used to challenge me to play it while I was walking. :-D Photo "Sunset Music" (8-30-09 6218e) 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.

LAST LIGHT (photo) & "the ant's lengthy haul..." (non-dream tanka) by Roswila

the ant's lengthy haul
across the floor with a crumb --
a bright light shining
through the gap beneath the door
softly swallows its exit


[re-post of non-dream tanka written in June of 2010 & slightly revised today 1-30-14. Photo "Last Light" (10-8-11 11371e) by Roswila]

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.

* * * *

until 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 “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.

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.

POSTPRANDIAL (photo) & BOSOM BUDDIES (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

BOSOM BUDDIES*

fresh off the final shoot for his sitcom,
"Bosom Buddies," Tom Hanks urges me
to eat a huge slice of a tiered cake,
dripping with sugary white icing

as across the room other cast members
still in drag (male as female or vice versa,
I can't always tell, much less if they dress
this way only for a living or as their life)
flirt and cavort around the smorgasbord

and why's this man (reputed to be so nice)
encouraging me to eat what he's aware
I cannot, nay, simply won't indulge in?

sigh, more than any yearning for a taste
of the spectacular cake, I wish
that appearances wouldn't so often
prove to be deceiving


[free verse poem on a dream of 1-26-14. *"Bosom Buddies" was an early 1980's T.V. sitcom Tom Hanks starred in; about two friends who disguised themselves as women so that they could live in the only apartment they could afford. Again, my eating issues are being addressed here, but also again this is about a whole lot more. Photo "Postprandial" (8-15-09 5468v2) 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.

TECHNICOLOR MEMORY (photo art by Roswila) & AN OLD PICTURE SHOW (dream tanka pair by Joseph Siegel)

AN OLD PICTURE SHOW

Gracefully aging
in her penthouse apartment,
the lovely actress
recalls a scene from her youth
in which planes fly overhead.

The glass roof fractures
and colored bands of bright stars
roll past like gift wrap.
Whether life or illusion,
it has been a wondrous show.


[tanka pair on a dream by guest poet Joseph Siegel, posted with his kind permission. I'm delighted to share another of Joseph's dream poems today. (If you'd like to read his previous guest post click here.) Joseph also writes music. Here's the link to his newest composition on Soundcloud. He can be contacted at ireadpages2@yahoo.com. Photo art "Technicolor Memory" (2-7-10 19454ev3) 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.