SEEING AURAS (photo) & FROM THE PASSENGER SEAT (dream tanka series) by Roswila

FROM THE PASSENGER SEAT

..."the brakes work," he adds,
"so it won't happen again"
yet here the car goes
not slowing down a bit
despite the vaunted brakes

he weaves frantically
through all the other cars crowding
the rural highway
in a huge traffic snarl
heating beneath the noon sun

he finally steers
onto the grassy side bank
still at high speed,
still trying to maneuver
a slow down, if not a stop

he makes an abrupt
turn, forcing the rear of the car
to fishtail wildly,
grass and clods of earth flying,
until it jars to a stop

the sudden stillness
and silence heightens the day's
bright golden aura,
nothing like a brush with death
to reveal life's glory


[tanka series on a dream of 1-4-15. As yesterday was my birthday and to a certain degree I'm surprised to have made it to 71, I'm tempted to see this dream as mostly about that. However, I think it's got much more to offer when I have time to ponder it further tonight and maybe pull some Tarot cards on it. Right now I'm reminded of what I believe was a American Indian bit of wisdom: to keep one's death as one's advisor. I'm also reminded of "I want to be alive when I die" (D.W. Winnicott). Photo "Seeing Auras" (12-23-14 001v4) 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.