WARNING BELLS (photo art) & JUMPING TO A CONCLUSION (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

JUMPING TO A CONCLUSION

... it may not be that appearances themselves deceive,
disguised by happenstance or by human intent

but that monkey mind leaps to tar the world
with one brush after another,
dripping with opaque color


[free verse poem (maybe better termed a poetic aphorism?) on a dream of 3-21-14. I actually started writing this in my mind as I was dreaming. A very lengthy dream about being back in an office situation (argh!). Although I began on waking to draft a narrative on the entire dream, before I'd gone very far I'd lost interest. As if I didn't want to give monkey mind yet another platform from which to chatter, complain, hoot 'n holler, and jump around. And I wound up going right to drafting the point I'd begun "writing" as I was dreaming, resulting in the piece above. BTW "monkey mind" is a Buddhist term for an aspect of mind meaning "unsettled; restless; capricious; whimsical; fanciful; inconstant; confused; indecisive; uncontrollable." And I would add "fearful." It's that last monkey in my own mind that causes me most frequently to jump to erroneous conclusions. Photo art "Warning Bells" (4-14-12 11680ev2) 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.

THE PASSING STORM (photo art) & SHIFTING (non-dream free verse poem) by Roswila

SHIFTING

center stage no longer filled
with his whirling absence
harshly lit by a sense
of the unfamiliar

only shadows now
sadly surprise attention
shifting among the scenery
and dusty curtains
stored backstage

as daily life plays out
without him


[non-dream free verse poem, written 3-20-14. This is an expansion of something I said on 3-19-14 on my photography blog in reference to my younger brother's death at the end of 2013. Even as I posted it yesterday I realized it could be the beginning of a poem. Photo art "The Passing Storm" (4-24-13 12622ev2) 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.

STEP THIS WAY (photo) & BACK IN THE LAND OF THE LOST (dream narrative) by Roswila

BACK IN THE LAND OF THE LOST

my former roommate and I head home
through the maze of New York City
subway system tunnels and gates

I follow her lead as it's been a long time
since I've traversed these concrete warrens
but she gets ahead of me and though she
clearly hears me when I call after her,
she doesn't slow her pace

she seems as lost as I, but my gut says
she's also enjoying being on the loose
and surrounded by strangers
for a change, so I make no further effort
to catch up and tend instead
to my increasing need
to sit and rest my knees

as I place all the stuff I'd been carting
near me so I can keep an eye on it, a young
homeless woman approaches me, offering
me a ruffled navy sweater, shyly noting
it had been stolen from her closet
but she'd like me to have it now

I say no thank you, why don't you keep it?
and wonder how someone so mentally frail
manages life on the streets, as I shoo away
another homeless woman hovering
like a vulture behind her back

before I know it I wake
from a sudden nap on the bench
and pop up, my knee snapping at me
like an angry box turtle, and rush off
with my large shoulder bag in tow

oh no! I left my other bags behind
and turn around so fast my head swims,
politely asking the women clerical workers
sitting where I'd been snoozing if anyone
found my things, but no, they saw
nothing when they arrived

one perky worker adds
that if anything were here
it was taken to the subterranean level
then rattles off lengthy instructions
on how to get down there

sigh, I'll never find it, I think,
and shake my head in wry
amusement as I mutter out loud
"Lost & Found is lost on me"


[narrative on a dream of 2-22-14. This is a month-old dream, written about in the couple days after it was dreamed. But I kept putting off posting it as I just didn't get much from it despite how lengthy it is. Rather, none of the images have yet really resonated beyond the level of "Yes, I remember feeling that way" or "Yes, I see a parallel to the present in this section." And other dreams kept coming along in the meantime that grabbed my attention more deeply. I actually think what I've recalled of this dream was from a pre-conscious level of awareness. And that reference at the end to "the subterranean level" is where a more lively dream action might have taken place but was not recalled. I've seen the just below street level of a subway serve as a symbol for near-consciousness before in my dreams. So why post this narrative now? As the record of a dream, and I also do sort of enjoy that ending pun. BTW, I didn't actually dream that pun, but it was definitely implied in the set up and how lost I felt. In fact, I often find my capping lines to a dream poem/narrative in an association to the dream either on waking or as I'm drafting it. Photo "Step This Way" (10-15-09 7584e) 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.

TREE IN WINTER (photo art) & STILL WILD (dream tanka trio w/two-liner) by Roswila

STILL WILD

my friend and I ride
snowy Alaskan back roads
headed who knows where,
when our empty van's hijacked
by men in dark uniforms

they summarily
inform us we must fill
the truck with at least
two huge loads of toilet paper
in order to end the shortage

well, I'm quite p.o.'d
(you should pardon the pun)
but know there's no choice
we somehow fill our large van
half full right away with rolls

but completing this hedge against need proves hard
in this still wild land: t.p. doesn't grow on trees


[three tanka capped by a two-liner on a dream of 3-17-14. Pardon another pun, but this boiled down for me to that expression "S--t happens!" And the recognition that there's no way to prepare for some of it. There's more I'll think over as I go about the day (such as the impact the natural world, the social, and the personal have on each other) but I'll end these comments here. Photo art "Tree in Winter" (3-17-14 027v4) 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.

INTIMATIONS OF A ROSE (photo art) & "chase it, and lose it..." (dream tanka w/monoku) by Roswila

chase it, and lose it
look elsewhere, it flies away
there's nothing to buy
with its omnipresent worth
were you able to grasp it

give up give in and breathe -- it lives you


[tanka capped by a monoku inspired by the dreams of 3-16-14. I say "inspired by the dreams" (instead of the usual "based on a dream") as this does not reflect any particular dream image or images. But rather my thoughts/feelings as the dreams went on leaving no image impressions behind (highly unusual for me). It became clear as I dreamed that my urge was to keep chasing the dream moment. Which, of course, is exactly the way not to be in a moment. Though in addition to that I do have a sense there was a particular "dream story" I was chasing last night, and losing in each twist and turn of an instantly fading image. And lest this Kelly be accused of forgetting, HAPPY ST. PATRICKS' DAY! Photo art "Intimations of a Rose" (3-14-14 025v2) 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.

MAKING A LIST (photo art) & NEW BLOOD (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

NEW BLOOD

back from attempting to climb
that mountain again, empty and rattling
with age, the train squeals to a stop
in the down lands station

puffs of gray smoke rise from its stack
in the chilly morning air, this had been
the most hopeful ride of all,
flagging only as the goal came
into sight above the last ridge,
promising a view of the valley
rumored to shine on the other side

the stop here short, time only to cool
off and re-stock before trying
the climb yet again, the list
of provisions for the trip longer
than ever before, the newest needs
added to the familiar fading
dog-eared list printed boldly in red:
the color of new blood


[free verse poem on a dream of 3-15-14. As soon as I began recalling this dream I got quite a giggle out of an association to that child's story "The Little Engine That Could." My father often quoted it's catch phrase of "I think I can" to me. As even as child I fell easily into believing I just couldn't do something and would summarily so declare. I feel as if he visited me via this dream, shoring me up for the trip. Photo art "Making A List" (12-24-13 004v3) 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.