ONCE THERE WERE ROSES (photomorph) & NO ANSWER (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

NO ANSWER

the paintings that come out of
her brain printer always
show up in pairs: never twins
but somehow related,
complementary or contrasting
and once in a while connected
only by a tenuous thread
she can't quite conceptualize
but nevertheless finds
reassuring and calming
like a warm hand on her shoulder

the last pair to arrive in the printer tray
had contrasted intensely, one in green
the other red, with wildly morphing
abstract shapes, all her painting-prints
she must admit are non-representational
some just less evocative of any
known form within which to fit
a memory or comprehension, but that
pair had been more than usually alien,
starkly new yet ancient paintings
of her mind's landscape,
received like deep space signals
after light years of travel

the printer hums,
the paintings she's been waiting for
are arriving! whether they're clearly
connected to each other, or simply
vaguely resonant, something about their
interplay will answer her burning
question, if only with a pin prick
of recognition or the ghost-like brush
of an ungraspable ahHAH!

she watches them fall on to the wide tray
of the printer, disappointment
landing with them in the pit of her stomach
like bricks in an itchy burlap bag

clearly these are failed paintings
or simply the self-cleaning smudges
of her brain printer

the only answer they offer
lying there in naked silence:
that sometimes there is no answer


[free verse poem on a dream of 11-28-14. Photomorph "Once There Were Roses" (4-24-10 10011v10) 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.

BREAKFAST (photo) & HIDDEN THINGS ... (mixed format dream poem) by Roswila

HIDDEN THINGS
(or "A Visit to Scandinavia")

Part One:

a male movie star
stows away on a small cruise ship,
his hideaway on
the top deck where he's writing
a screen play on a typewriter

when he hears footsteps
he knows it's the female captain
headed for his roost
he rushes around to get rid of
all evidence of his presence

he stashes the typewriter below the long table
on which he's laid out his evening smorgasbord

then grabs arms full of food but where, pray tell,
will he stash this massive profusion of lettuce

he looks around in a panic thinking wryly
"It's hard to hide the good stuff"


Part Two:

the last of the season's celebrations,
called "The Ponies Have Lost,"
will begin just after sunset

tents are being erected in a open field
surrounded by this Scandinavian forest

the ponies prance toward the tent area
from one side, as young women
parade from the other to say good-bye
to their mounts in a ceremonial way

each woman wears a unique outfit,
one young woman standing out
in a silken yellow flowing robe

it's more like a mask covering
her entire body, facial features
outlined at the apex
in glittering rhinestones

her mask-robe shimmers in the setting sun
revealing far more than it hides


[part 1: 2 tanka with 3 two-liners, part 2: free verse poem, both on a lengthy dream of 11-24-14. This is one of those efforts that is not truly a poem, but more like what I sometimes call a dream narrative. But no matter what I call the writing, I don't know quite how to express what I get from the source dream. The issue of hiding or masking, and how it ultimately may be futile? Also, what is being hidden and from whom? In a psychological sense our persona is a mask, and the persona is a necessary function for navigating our ways through our social worlds. Yes, to all that, but there's a twist I can't quite verbalize. So I'll just let the issues speak for themselves as they can through the double mask of dream and poem. Photo "Breakfast" (11-6-14 003va) 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.

MOON MIRROR (photo) & A YOUNG GIRAFFE'S DREAM (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

A YOUNG GIRAFFE'S DREAM

why do they seem so surprised?
all I've heard since I was knee high
to the herd's tallest old one
is how I'm going to have very
high pockets, even for a giraffe
and especially for a female

I guess that's why I've dared to dream
of one day crossing that wide moon river,
the one I love to see curving
like a bright smile
on the moon's full face

this is all probably (if you'll pardon
the pun) a very tall order, but maybe
when I'm fully grown I'll
stick my neck way out
and nuzzle the moon gently
against its pale cheek


[free verse poem on a dream of 11-26-14. I was singing Moon River throughout this dream. And lest I forget: Happy Thanksgiving! I am grateful for more than I could reasonably list here, even the struggles and challenges. I am indeed fortunate. Photo "Moon Mirror" (11-14-14 027v2a) 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.

MOONRISE (photomorph) & "thinking cools ..." (non-dream haiku) by Roswila

thinking cools down
in the afternoon shadows
a haiku rises


[non-dream haiku written 11-26-14. Photomorph "Moonrise" (11-14-14 10009ev7) 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.

GOING GREY (photomorph) & A BIG DEAL (mixed format dream poem) by Roswila

A BIG DEAL

phew! I pulled the fat
right out of the fire this time
which is really great
I like my new boss and am anxious
to make a good impression

it wasn't easy
she gave no notice and stood there
hovering while I
fumbled through the pile of letters
she'd just dropped on my full desk

but I did what she
wanted rather quickly -- now
just as quickly
and without her noticing
to clean up my house slippers

they've gathered dust
from under my desk and look
rather bedraggled
I should bend to it and pick
off all that clingy grey fuzz

yet they actually look rather cute
like two little old men snoozing

no, this is no time for metaphorical fun
my new boss lady's a seriously big deal


[tanka series capped by a pair of two-liners on a dream of 11-22-14. Photomorph "Going Grey" (11-14-14 041v4) 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.

ON THE VERGE OF CHOCOLATE (photomorph) & I LOVE THE NIGHT LIFE... (mixed format dream poem) by Roswila

I LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE, I GOT TO BOOGIE...*

our friend's reconstructed
a famous old British disco
but only the chairs
however in great detail
and true to color and shape

I miss the dance floor reflecting the mirror ball
yet the chocolate colored seating calls sweetly

and the music still moves this arthritic old lady
if only to butt boogie in an overstuffed chair


[a tanka capped by a pair of two two-liners on a dream of 11-21-14. *I sang these lines from a popular disco song of the late 1970's on and off throughout the dream. Photomorph "On the Verge of Chocolate" (11-19-09 8254v7) 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.

ATOMIZER (photomorph) & DECISIONS, DECISIONS (dream tanka series) by Roswila

DECISIONS, DECISIONS

say what?! I threw those
away when I moved to this
new apartment
and here they are again
demanding a decision

that I choose once more
whether to stash them under
the bathroom sink
or toss them -- what a royal pain
to be haunted by perfumes

yes, perfumes, bottles
and bottles of various
scents in huge sizes
as if the sweet smell of success
could be bought and hoarded


[three tanka on a dream of 11-20-14. Photomorph "Atomizer" (11-19-09 8258ev7) 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.