BLOCKED AT EVERY TURN (photomorph) & DO I LOOK LIKE LUNCH? (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

DO I LOOK LIKE LUNCH?

"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep..."
no, that's someone else's path
and this is most certainly my own fix,
lost in woods I'd expected to enjoy exploring ...
yikes! a polar bear, a hugely underweight one
so it's got to have an even larger appetite
I spin around and rush off through the brush
that grabs at my legs and ankles as I pass ...
and another skinny white bear suddenly
rears up before me, I turn on my heel ...
and yet another one, I double back again
nearly tripping on my sneakered feet ...
I understand hunger's imperatives
but why are they here, out of their element
in these lush temperate woods?
at least each bear I nearly collide with
leaves me no doubt about
which direction to go in,
anywhere it isn't ...
finding a way out of these woods
no longer my prime concern,
I stumble down barely passable
woodland paths, fleeing haphazardly
from one starving polar bear after another


[free verse poem on a dream of 10-16-14. Phew! This is another many-layered dream. And it had an odd mood. One might think it was nightmarish. But not at all. I certainly had no doubt about fleeing those polar bears, but I also had a sympathy and concern for them. A dead giveaway that they represent aspects of myself, I'd say. :-) And those aspects? Appetites of all kinds, especially affectional (too long an explanation on this) and, of course, for food. Were I a skilled lucid dreamer I'm fairly certain I would have stopped and asked one of those bears what it needed from me. Running from one's own needs/cravings isn't a very effective strategy. And that thought recalls The Moon card in The Manga Tarot:

There's a lot more in this dream but I'll leave it at this. BTW, that opening line I quote is from Robert Frost's famous poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." Photomorph "Blocked At Every Turn" (9-20-14 015v8b) 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,

[a/k/a 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.

WHAT GOES 'ROUND (photomorph) & "a teaspoon..." (non-dream haiku) by Roswila

a teaspoon brims
with the ceiling fan's whirl
reflection


[non-dream haiku written 10-2-14. Photomorph "What Goes 'Round" (10-7-14 009v37) 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,






[a/k/a 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 POD (photomorph) & PERISH THE THOUGHT (dream influenced free verse poem) by Roswila

PERISH THE THOUGHT

First, drop the expectation of control,
the delusion of being at the wheel
each time a thought turns,
this way or that,
in the grip of some clever twist.

Then, step away from the vehicle.
It won't go any place different.
Just the same old hyper ride
down another slippery slope.

And watch out!
This next conception's as dangerous
as being certain of what's happening:
this contempt for self
as each successive vehicle hurtles on
belief locking its doors.

Step away from them all,
no matter how shiny or new
or impressively ancient,
easily obtained or hard won.

And keep on stepping away
though it's like living in an endless set
of nesting dolls with always
another entombing belief to escape.


[free verse poem coming out of post-dreaming thoughts of 9-8-14, i.e., not based on anything specific in any of the dreams, just the maundering they precipitated and my reactions to it all. I have revised it, over and over. I'd think I finally had it where it needed to be, and, no, something else wasn't working about it. When I came across it looking for something to post I decided to cut a last stanza that just seemed to flap there in the breeze, waving more beliefs in the reader's face. And I'd better post it now, as is, or I'll come across it at some later date and fuss at it more. Some poems are like that. Some photos, too. Never really reaching a point at which I feel comfortable letting them be. Photomorph "The Pod" (10-7-14 009v5b) 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,

[a/k/a 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.

SWALLOWING THE SUN (photo) & SOMETHING FRESH (mixed format dream poem) by Roswila

SOMETHING FRESH

hey, I'm telling you,
it'll be a thoroughly
wasted effort
not to mention depressing
and all too familiar

see? just as I said
those bags of potato chips
are either empty
or stale, and the popcorn packs
on this crowded store rack? the same

while the baked ham slice
your friend's placed on your plate
is tougher than leather
and, to boot, even this dockside
air is a lot more tasty

well, when everything's either empty or stale,
or not worth the effort to swallow
it's time to try something fresh
to walk past the grocery store
to the park on the corner
or dive off the dock for a midnight swim

just make it a brand new move
even if as small as this silver coin
you reach to pick up from among the pebbles
where it sparkles like a rising intuition


[mixed format (3 tanka, followed by free verse) poem on a dream of 10-13-14. I tried making some condensed notes on this but even condensed they went on forever. Suffice it to say, it's one of those jam packed dreams. At the most obvious level it supports something implied in yesterday's dream/poem: the need for new/different action. Which reminds me of that saying I've probably mentioned here many time before: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results." Photo "Swallowing the Sun" (10-15-14 024) 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.

FRAGMENTATION (photomorph) & THE BOMBING (dream tanka series) by Roswila

THE BOMBING

disturbing news:
there's to be bombings, one near,
another nearer,
the newscast barely over
when the first erupts outside

the windows rattle
but we sustain no damage
only rising fear
about where the closer bomb
will go off .... there it goes!!!

it's indoors, right here,
in our rooms, but thankfully
a great deal smaller
only an explosion of boxes
from the white wood closet

we start going through
the files scattered on the floor
my boss of years past
wants to get rid of all his
handwritten business records

this may not be
a bad idea, after all,
I've long since
computerized them all
but something gives me pause

this bombing offers
another chance to sort through
what lies between us,
with more care for what
we want to keep or toss


[tanka series on a dream of 10-12-14. Photomorph "Fragmentation" (10-7-14 008v14a) 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.

FALL ROSE (photo) & "bursting..." (non-dream haiku) by Roswila

bursting like a nova
from a distant windshield
autumn sunlight


[non-dream haiku written 10-12-14. Photo "Fall Rose" (10-7-14 013v4) 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,

[a/k/a 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.

VIOLACEOUS (photomorph) & SIDE-BY-SIDE (dream tanka trio) by Roswila

SIDE-BY-SIDE

the tall dark-haired man
and I stride slowly onto
the stage side-by-side
anyone who wishes, it seems,
can take a turn in the spotlight

as I shelter
my pot of tiny violets
against my chest,
the man rolls one of his large plants
proudly before him on a dolly

its huge clay bowl
and big tongue-like white blooms
shine in the footlights,
his assertion a redundance:
"No more timid living for me"


[tanka trio on a dream of 10-10-14. At first recall this seemed to be a simple dream. But once I got into the drafting of the poem it became clear it has several levels and at least one twist. I won't go into it all (it's a lot) but will say that the stage image is not unusual in my dreams. Beyond being an apt and famous one for life as a whole, it reflects my having been born into and raised by a family of theatre folk. I will also note that the immediate association I had to "tiny violet" was to the expression "shrinking violet." And in addition to its meaning of shyness/timidity, I can see it as a dream pun on my on-going weight loss. Photomorph "Violaceous" (10-7-14 008v5j) 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.