FANNING THE FLAMES (photomorph) & THE ETERNAL FLAME (mixed format dream poem) by Roswila

THE ETERNAL FLAME

another betrayal,
sigh, it makes no difference
that I have long known
not to trust anyone, yes,
not one single person

at least not at any profound level
with anything delicate or unique

true, it's not as if
she'd directly betrayed me
but it was shocking
to stumble over those papers
listing her as a foreign spy

and since I was shocked
it means I was at some level
suckered by her sugar-
won't-melt-in her mouth act and in
imminent danger of trusting her

so now I have to
pack this distressingly
hot knowledge away
with everything else I know
but dare not speak out about

let it start an eternal flame, the burning
will remind me betrayal can come from anywhere


[several tanka with two two-liners on a dream of 4-4-15. I keep wanting to let this speak for itself and at the same time wanting to explain. The issue of trust is one of those that gets thoroughly bandied about and yet infrequently actually respected when it comes time for action. This dream/poem largely reflects my own fear of betrayal. I also own my own behaviors that at times were experienced by those in my life as betrayals. Some were, many were not; and so also, I'm sure, some betrayals that I have experienced. Lastly, what I most fear? Betraying myself. And that's the heart of this dream/poem. Photomorph "Fanning the Flames" (3-21-15 010v6) 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....".

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‘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.