AT HER FEET (photo) & TO THE FUTURE (mixed format dream poem) by Roswila

TO THE FUTURE

what a procedure
to move all of us old folk,
kit and kaboodle,
to new (hopefully) better
senior-friendly apartments

I get off the bus
in the first wave of anxious
fellow residents
and stand by the front exit
waiting to reclaim my baggage

then I see that at my feet is a big carton
of my things, largely old files and notes

how did that get there? I don't recall
bringing it with me on the journey

and most of all, what's with the folder
lying on top of it that's from him?

a folder of instructions, nay, disguised
demands that I do this or that to my art

as I stand there, not knowing if I'm more perplexed
or pissed, silver ware clatters from his folder

mostly serving spoons, old, tarnished, and oversized ...
well, it serves me right for bringing him along

even if unconsciously, for what we harbor
unknowingly weighs us down nevertheless

time to lighten up
and drop even my own demands
for understanding
I toss the full carton in a trash can
and turn my face to the future


[tanka and two-liners on a dream of 9-11-15. Photo "At Her Feet" (4-21-13 12567ev2) 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.

BITE ME (photomorph) & THE SLAP DOWN (mixed format dream poem) by Roswila

I don't know what to say in sad memory of the 9/11 terror attack in my former home city of New York. Except my hope that the passage of time continues to heal the wounds and ease hearts. I know I will never forget that day as I was still living in New York City at the time. My heart will especially always go out to all those who lost someone that day.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

THE SLAP DOWN

he's clearly surprised
but it doesn't begin to hide
his condescension
yes, I was quick enough to slap
that annoying no-see-um* down

but what's so surprising about that?
he doesn't have a corner on quickness


[tanka and two-liner of a dream 9-10-15. *No-see-ums = tiny biting flies (or midges). Photomorph "Bite Me" (5-10-13 12651v8a) 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.

DESERT FOSSIL (photomorph) & A NIGHT IN THE HEAT WAVE (free verse poem) by Roswila

A NIGHT IN THE HEAT WAVE

all the night's dreams
steam ironed flat
and lifeless by
my over-heated body

wisps of already
ghost-like images
evaporating in
the heated discomfort

I wish I could say
that I'm now
wrinkle free

but this aged body
bears each twist
and turn carved by time

like the bed of a long dry
ancient river at the edge
of flooding the sea
with its emptiness


[free verse poem on losing all the dreams of 9-9-15, though I knew I was having lots of dreams each of the many times I woke. Photomorph "Desert Fossil" (7-11-13 005v8) 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.

The Seven of Cups in the RWS Tarot, & THE VENDING MACHINE (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

THE VENDING MACHINE

so, this is the machine that stands waiting
in the shadows of sleep's long hallway,
vending dreams for the simple price
of remembering them

almost anything that winds up strewn
along the busy paths of waking
(just look at those wistful
wishes and sharp-edged fears!)
seems to be displayed here,
repackaged in eye catching images
and exaggerated in size by the beveled
dream glass behind which they hang

for instance, that vile skittish
roach looks much more like a lobster
(and a huge one at that), one of those
crustaceans that's rumored
to mate for life

for how else could it be sold
that one's other half can be seen
in those things one finds repellent


[free verse poem on a dream of 9-8-15. Yes, another dream with a vending machine image. Which image echoes the Seven of Cups in the Rider/Waite/Smith Tarot, prompting me to post it above instead of one of my photos, as I usually do. BTW, one meaning for the Seven of Cups is "Wanting what you can't and probably shouldn't have." Though when this card shows in a reading what's going down is often far more complicated that that, and far less clear.]

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.

MOUNTAINS OF GEHENNA (photomorph) & SNOWBALLS IN HELL (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

SNOWBALLS IN HELL

as I work my way up the several flights
of stairs to our apartment, I also work my way
up into anger that no one's bothered yet
to try out that new vending machine we got
that makes and dispenses free snow

then my step slides on some papers
on a landing and even as I note
they're poems by someone unknown to me,
I nearly have apoplexy, leaving
the pages right where I'd stepped on them

after all, climbing stairs is hard enough
given my arthritis, without then having
to ever-so-slowly bend over
and retrieve some careless
person's stack of papers

oh damnation, my roommate's got company,
two women I don't even know, from whom
I immediately sense an intense hostility

it's a good guess that the poetry on the stairs
belongs to one of them, but I zip my lip,
turning toward my roommate
with a questioning look about these women --
as usual she's oblivious to anything
coming from me, anything, that is, short
of anger, which she always considers a crime

the shiny new snow machine catches my eye
and I decide to try it out, but before I do,
I take the useless shot and ask if anyone else
has tried this machine yet -- my roommate
rolls her eyes dismissively and the two women
look at me as if I have three heads

I laugh mordantly to myself as I think
that a Cerberus* image is actually
rather accurate, seeing as I'm now
going to learn how long snow balls
last in Hell, well, if not actually
in it, at least at the door sill

and better to be on guard at it's mouth
than to go straight into Hell
in a hand basket


[free verse poem on a dream of 9-5-15. This is that lengthy dream poem mentioned in my last two days' notes. *"Cerberus [usually depicted with three heads] was always employed as Hades' loyal watchdog, and guarded the gates that granted access and exit to the underworld." Click here for the full Cerberus myth on Wikipedia. What I find striking is that Cerberus guards in both directions. Also, given my issues with food/obesity (and the candy vending machine here where I live!), this sentence from the Cerberus info on Wikipedia is rather pointed: "In Dante Alighieri's Inferno, ... Cerberus is found in the Third Circle of Hell, where he oversees and rends to pieces those who have succumbed to gluttony, one of the seven deadly sins." I'm still chewing over (another apt image) what these and other associations ultimately tell me about this dream. Photomorph "Mountains of Gehenna" (5-27-15 017v7a) 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.

EVOLUTION OF THE ROSE (photomorph) & THE KING TO HIS RELUCTANT MISTRESS (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

THE KING TO HIS RELUCTANT MISTRESS

this is an arranged, even mandated marriage,
he proclaims, and you have no choice about it

also, don't get too attached to or fearful of
any ideas you may have of the responsibilities
of being Queen to my King of this realm

for this monarchy's modus operandi
is evolving rather rapidly
into a democracy

and definitely do not hold tight to any
understanding of how that new way
of operating will work

people under any system tend to focus
pretty much on the same things,
especially in their deepest selves

and your focus now must be
on bonding with me at last,
for once and for all


[free verse poem on a dream of 9-6-15. This is not the dream poem I mentioned yesterday that I was working on. That one is completed, but then I had the dream last night on which the above is based and felt more compelled to post the poem on it instead. (That other rather lengthy dream piece is called "Snowballs in Hell" and will go up here in the future.) Photomorph "Evolution of the Rose" (5-1-13 12632ev7) 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.

SCARFING IT UP (photomorph) & "shadows of summer..." (non-dream haiku) by Roswila

shadows of summer
the fudgesicle drips ... just
as it reaches her mouth


[non-dream haiku written 9-4-15. I'm working on what will probably be a lengthy poem, based on a dream from last night. Rather than rush it (especially given the re-reading of mythology I'm going to have to do to more deeply relate to the dream) I'm putting up this haiku today. I'm the "her" in this 'ku. I always have a fudgesicle (Healthy Choice brand, only 100 calories) after I do my twice weekly, afternoon Corner Store shop. In hot weather it gets drippy pretty fast. And I'm always determined not to hurry but to savor the treat. A delightful challenge on some days. Photomorph "Scarfing It Up" (9-2-09 6439ea) 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.