CLEANING THE NIGHT WIND (photo) & MESSAGES (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

MESSAGES

all of my brother's empty envelopes
need a thorough washing out if they're to be used,
yeah, he's an adult and could do it himself
but somehow it seems right for me to wash them

he drops them in the soapy water as I promise
to get to them as soon as I can; I watch
them sink below the suds, each at their
own pace: a large manila bubble lined one,
several off-white letter sized, and many
so small that I barely get a glimpse
of them before they're sunk

I turn from the sink to complete the many
other chores in my rooms that I have yet to do,
only recalling my brother's envelopes when I've
finished sweeping, and dusting, and defrosting,
and so on, and am about to sigh with relief ...

oh, well, I roll up my dusty sleeves and pick up
each envelope in turn, cautiously swishing
the soapy water around inside it with a cloth

as I work, I think that as odd as it seems to wash
paper things, they do need it and they'll dry just
fine since I'm working with care not to rip
their soggy fragile sides as I hang them
to dry above the sink,

mumbling to myself that, after all,
how a message is contained and conveyed
matters at least as much as what it says


[free verse poem on a dream of 9-19-16. This was my actual brother (now deceased), at the age when we were good friends (in his late 30's), not too many years before we were estranged. BTW, I had many reactions to this dream that I did not write into the poem. Such as "pushing the envelope" (it fits but takes the dream to a less important, if still valid place). And a hint of regret that I cannot go back in time and clean up what I only recently realized was a fragile relationship between two very wounded people. Photo "Cleaning the Night Wind" (9-15-16 004v2c) 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), 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.

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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 other blog (dedicated to her photos only, i.e. no poetry or other writing; daily post); TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.