STARLIGHT BRIDGE (photomorph) & WHAT WE DO (dream narrative) by Roswila

WHAT WE DO

my long-time friend and I
go into a break room of the large
urban hospital complex that we work in
and start chanting:

ohm ohm ohm give peace a chance

several times through I try singing
the harmony line of the simple
melody but that just seems
to confuse my friend, who then
begins the next round on an entirely
different pitch, leaving me to flounder
around for the right harmony

I give up on being fancy at last
realizing that the repetition
of these words
is what really matters
and settle with her into a calming
same pitch chant that swirls
around us and the room

a dark haired young worker leans
briefly through the doorway of the room
whispering that he now knows why
this floor of the hospital
has such a high rate of recovery

I'm puzzled at first since my friend
and I are chanting for our own
well-being, then recall The Star's*
message that what we do to help
ourselves also benefits others


[narrative on a dream of 1-23-15. *The Star = a card in the Tarot; that message at the end is one of the many meanings for this card. I'd fallen asleep for the second night in a row asking my dreams to explore a certain deeply disturbing personal conflict I've been having. This dream was a surprising and slant, yet quite apt response to that request. There was another dream but I'll probably post on that one tomorrow, that also addressed my before sleep request of my dream world. BTW, I "heard" that chanting/singing as I was dreaming, and also felt as if I were actually doing it. As opposed to how more frequently in dreams I just know something is happening, i.e. don't feel as if I'm actually experiencing it. Photomorph "Starlight Bridge" (10-3-09 7273v2a) 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.

DOOR ONTO WINTER (photo) & A DREAM LADEN WITH OLD THEMES (dream narrative) by Roswila

A DREAM LADEN WITH OLD THEMES

tired and sweaty after the long walk
to find the right back country road
she stands in front of the shower

she never did set a stumbling foot
on the path she so clearly recalls,
the one that would lead where
she's fairly certain she accidentally
left both her wallet and her
bamboo/flute-cum-walking stick

not a good day she mumbles to herself
and now she's going to have to shower
with someone else or stay dirty
and sweaty for who knows how long

she covers her embarrassment
with the joking proclamation "Strip tease!"
as she disrobes at the glass door
to the stall shower

the soapy wet woman inside looks
quickly away, honoring her masked
request for privacy


[narrative on a dream of 1-22-15. Photo "Door Onto Winter" (1-20-15 008v3) 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.

X MARKS THE THOUGHT (photo) & ON THE RISE (mixed format dream poem) by Roswila

ON THE RISE

that's it, she's had it!
no more creating and hoarding
all these clever thoughts
no more trying to anticipate
his, or anyone's next move

right or wrong they're all
wrong minded when life demands
that it be lived here
and now, anew on each second
asking only our openness

better she release
all this thinking like so many
helium balloons
to pop in the hot wired neurons
of her oh-so-busy brain

they're really no more
than cartoon bubbles filled with
black lettered words
one doesn't even need to read them
and erasers are still being sold

hell, one needn't even fret about this blankness
another slew of thoughts are just about due to rise


[tanka series capped by a two-liner, taking off from two dreams of 1-21-15. Photo "X Marks the Thought" (1-21-15 003v4) by Roswila; yes, I've become intrigued by this light on the wall (third pic version I've posted in two days to two of my blogs), it'll pass, it's just more thinking ...]

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.

IN THE COMPANY OF PINK (photomorph) & THIS GRAND MOMENT (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

THIS GRAND MOMENT

the seashell pink satin gown
is lovely against her pale skin,
the low cut neckline and fitted waist
complementing her hour-glass figure

she's well aware she catches all the eyes
in the ball room, especially those
of her mate, even after all these years

her only worry, the staples
that hold the hyperlinks in place down
each side of her bodice

do they show through the thin satin weave?
and just why did the seamstress insist
on inserting the links to begin with?

she can't imagine ever taking
the leap to any other place,
any other time than this,
with waltz music swirling around her
as she sips from a crystal cup more filled
with light than drink

she turns gratefully into her mate's
embrace, and the hyperlinks
start to itch like no-see-um*
bites against her sides

can this grand moment
be over already?


[free verse poem (or maybe narrative?) on a dream of 1-20-15. *no-see-um(s) = another term for sand fleas. On waking, my immediate association to this dream was to the apparently instantaneous leaping one does from one dream to another. I say "apparently" because I sometimes suspect what we remember as separate dreams are really one long dream. That we've recalled in small, more manageable bites, so to speak. BTW, I see much more here than a dream on dreaming, but I'll leave it at that. Photomorph "In the Company of Pink" (4-21-13 12570ev2c) 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.

FOUND FAIRY (photo) & EPHEMERAL SHAPES (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

EPHEMERAL SHAPES

dream after dream
I'm not really paying attention to
flickers by like a movie
I only have playing
for its ambient light
a latter day fireplace

cold ashes greet me
in the morning
even poking through them
can't really enliven the images
that rise from their ephemeral shapes:

Orson Welles and rose bud;
decrying the prejudice
against American Indians;
she's due to have another baby
before her present one is born;
the golden fairy child grins
as she reaches through
the mail slot into my room

poor fairy!
she impressed me most of all
as I now recall
slamming the slot door
on her lightly cupped little hands
was she offering?
asking?

I only know I felt invaded
and did not take the time
to inquire anything
of her smiling fairy face
now hanging in my memory
bright like a morning sun


[free verse poem on several dreams of 1-19-15. Photo "Found Fairy" (1-20-15 004) by Roswila -- I have no idea where that light was coming from, though I honestly didn't work very hard trying to figure it out. It was too much fun just looking at it.]

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.

"danger lingers..." (dreamku haiga) by Roswila

[I really don't know what to call the above: mandala? haiga? experimental? It's very old. From April of 2008, produced not even three full months after moving here to CA from New York City, and posted here a couple years ago. All I did today was to change the color from the original purple to this red. I think that goes better with the "danger." When I first did this haiga I was (as you can tell by the credit at the bottom of it) attempting to use words to make a mandala. As I think on it now, it's odd I chose a dreamku mentioning danger for a mandala. And made it in the shape of an inverted peace sign. I keep thinking I'll re-do this, printing the text which might make it clearer. However, its life seems to be in just what it is, as it is. I even hesitated to change the color. BTW, I'm tempted to leave it up to you, dear reader, to figure out my intended order of lines for the dreamku. But I'm also invested enough in being understood that I'll list them here: danger lingers/my old friend naps, her head/on my shoulder]

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.

NOT A SEAT IN SIGHT (photo) & ON TAKING CARE OF ONE'S OWN BUSINESS (dream narrative trio) by Roswila

ON TAKING CARE OF ONE'S OWN BUSINESS

dream one:

my brother's back, hanging around that bathroom
he just about died in, and I know he's gone
right back to the life style that made
him that ill to begin with;
I start to get angry with his live-in woman,
then recall: he's a grown man and no one
can make him do anything, anymore than
anyone has ever been able to make me;
and stewing in silent anger or haranguing
in an attempt to change things,
will only lead to the same place as always:
frustration for all concerned
and, worse, estrangement


dream two:

a young slim dark haired woman and a bossy man
are spy-buddies; the person they've been assigned
to tail becomes vaguely aware of them
which threatens the effectiveness
of their mission; the paired spies head for
a small bathroom to hide because their target's
started following them; they rush
into it, her partner-in-spying ordering
the woman to pull down her underpants and sit
on the toilet; he's certain their target's going
to come in; the target enters and on seeing
her sitting there apparently doing her own
business he hauls up short; but from
the look on his face it's clear the target's
thinking that taking a dump isn't always
what it appears to be.


dream three:

she sits on an old fashioned chamber pot
waiting for nature to take its course;
the long wood porch she's on overlooks
the animal preserve of the village;
a cordial acquaintance waves hello
from a distance, on his way to check out
the new baby in the gorilla family;
she waves in response and before
she can get back to wool gathering,
he returns breathlessly saying
that she should hurry over to the gorillas
"toot sweet," that she simply does not want
to miss the fun going on right now! she
thanks him, laughing, then adds
"... but some things just can't be rushed."


[dream narrative on three dreams from 1-16-15. These three are connected by the bathroom theme which is significant in itself and is reflected in an idiomatic reading of the title. They also each address the issue of telling others what to do. However, they are each otherwise somewhat different in their focus, falling very generally into past, present, and future. I just had the thought these could be boiled down to the question "How does one connect with others (and even one's self) when there's all this crap to deal with?" Though ultimately, I'm left with a hopeful feeling at the end of the last dream. Also, as mentioned here in many earlier posts, my brother died a year ago. (He took a horrendous fall in the shower due to cardiac arrest.) Photo "Not A Seat In Sight" (12-20-14 010v2) 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.