ESCAPE TO THE SKY (photo) & ESCAPE FROM THE MALL (dream narrative) by Roswila

ESCAPE FROM THE MALL

how odd! this time there's an escape
to be made from the mall,
when usually I'm engaged
in exploring it (with a certain amount
of frustration, but fully engaged)

and odder still, I have companions,
one clearly a woman friend,
the other vague but still
a definite presence

and then there's the fourth all three
of us want to join up with
(and somehow know we will):
a young man who's making his own
escape from this huge mall,
armed with a rather Star Trek-like
space gun that no one, not even
the mall cops, mistake
for the real thing

our escape, and the young man's earlier,
seem somehow unnecessary, after all
doesn't one simply leave a mall when
one wishes to? yet mall cops follow us
as we prepare to leave, chattering
on their collar mikes to each
other about the whereabouts
of the young man with the space
gun, also seemingly concerned
for the well-being of we three
and suggesting to each other
that maybe we should be retained
in protective custody

but who's to protect us from the lack
of sunlight beneath the mall's high ceilings?
from missing the sky climbing trees I can
already smell in my imagination? from
mourning the yearned for (and I'm starting
to believe fated) meeting up with the young
man with the space gun?

yeah, the cops' kind of well-meaning protection
no one needs, at least not the three of us,
I mumble to myself as I heft my nearly bursting
backpack onto my back and take one last look
at the array of old furniture I'm leaving
behind at the entrance to the mall

ah, there's the young man in the distance,
I think, as I see him slipping, a dark silhouette,
between two tall trees: how surprised he'll be
to discover he has three new friends looking
happily forward to travelling beside him


[narrative on a dream of 11-3-16. The first two "stanzas" were mildly lucid (knowing one is dreaming, as one is dreaming) since I was aware of other mall dreams I've had. This dream invites analysis via a Jungian model of the psyche. Right now, one way of looking at the young man is as the "contra-sexual element," which in a woman is called the animus. Then again, the four of us could be: ego, persona, sub- (or unconscious?), and Self. (That vague figure could be the sub- or unconscious.) In any case, it might be fun to do some thinking in this vein later when I have the time. I should also admit that I find what may be a sad premonition about something in my life in this dream. And leave it at that. Photo "Escape to the Sky" (10-27-16 013v2) 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.

* * * *

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.