REFLECTIONS IN A DROWNING EYE (photomorph) & PICTURE THIS (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

PICTURE THIS

the black and white photo exhibit
hangs in the air before me,
inviting our appreciative perusal or,
rather, from the other's tone of voice
and attitude, my careful attention
to his unsolicited and detailed teaching:

see how the shallow depth of field
creates a very effective shadow box
of the spaces? and how backlighting
in this one actually brings the foreground
into focus? oh! and how the silhouetted
pose of the central figure in this one
asks a viewer to hold his breath, too?
(and, sotto voce) but they're
all a bit dated, can you see?

I had observed all of these effects
and more, and agree only in part,
so simply nod and move to the next
picture, noting to myself that I like
the 1950's air about them, nicely
achieved by lighting, texture,
and choice of subject, there being
nothing wrong with retro

then the "teacher" starts setting up
an ultra chic scene he will shoot
of a young man drinking alone
at a large, highly reflective
chrome and glass table

the young man sees me watching,
tilts his glass, and offers me a drink
from the scene's bottle, I accept and,
phew! is it strong stuff! or maybe
I've just forgotten after all these years
how whiskey burns

his smile doesn't quite make it to his eyes
as I try to minimize my intense coughing

well, I made the choice to drink,
and clearly some things are still
too much for me to swallow


[free verse poem on a dream of 12-14-15. Photomorph "Reflections In A Drowning Eye" (4-3-14 016v4g) 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; TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT; and THE MARKER TAROT.