UP IN FLAMES (photomorph) & ON BEING A GRINCH (mixed format dream poem) by Roswila

ON BEING A GRINCH

The Gift:

the shapeless package
left at my doorstep wiggles
yikes! it's a kitten

clearly another
gift from that neighbor who still
doesn't get that she
needs to inquire what might be
appropriate to give to me

if she had, she'd know as cute as this little bugger is
I can't afford the food, the time, any possible illness

all that said I'm now left feeling I'll be a grinch
in her eyes, after all, who doesn't want a kitten?


The Option:

what a great office!
staffed entirely by women,
all of them writers
this is the best temporary job
I've had in all my years temping

and I hear it'll
be very long term as well,
they've even asked me
to become part of their book club,
which appears to be an honor

then I learn of the $50 cost per month
above and beyond the book's price

should I join for the sake of being "in" for once?
or accept the reality that the cost's too high?


The Finger:

there's a sere relief
in burning all these old photos,
even as a part
of me says I may regret
burning all these bridges

but the last batch, all artsy ones of hands,
just won't give over entirely to the flames,

one large, black and white middle finger
sticking up into the air, its message clear


[mixed format (a dreamku, and several tanka and two-liners) poem on dreams of 1-8-16. Photomorph "Up In Flames" (3-21-15 010v7a) by Roswila]

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 other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT; and THE MARKER TAROT.

LIFE BENEATH THE ICE (photomorph) & MONOLOGUE FROM A PLAY ABOUT CONSENSUS (dream monologue) by Roswila

MONOLOGUE FROM A PLAY ABOUT CONSENSUS

Uh oh, it's happening again! (he grouses
to himself) She's clearly in a different reality
than I am and from what she's saying
so's the rest of this small lakeside town

H-e-double-hockey-sticks! I'm not sick!
And it's not two degrees on this dock,
nor is the water so cold it can be rolled
into beach ball sized shapes for transport
(he continues to mutter in his mind
as he paces agitatedly, fanning his hot face)

Yeah, I finally get it, Reality.By.Consensus.
and when one hasn't consented one is screwed
(she hesitates, fearful he's becoming violent)

I'm in a tiny pocket of summer to their
pervasive winter, I'm healthy and ready to dive
off this dock into the lake for a cooling swim,
while she's urging me into a heavily blanketed
sick bed in obvious fear for my well-being
(he stalls her renewed aggressive concern
for a moment by standing still as if
beginning to consider what she's saying)

The only solution? (he mumbles beneath
his breath, prompting a puzzled look
from her) Well, for someone like me
with no desire or ability to create
a Consensus to fit my reality, the way
forward's to become a bit of a chameleon,
to stop fighting the current Consensus,
to behave in ways that give no clue
to my own reality (she sighs with relief,
thinking she's won him over)

Yup, it'll be a wild ride (he continues
to mutter in his mind), one foot
in their world and the other in my own
but I'd rather my imperceptible
balancing act between two realities,
than an on-going battle
against their need to deny my own


[monologue on a dream of 1-7-16. Photomorph "Life Beneath the Ice" (3-21-15 020v9b) 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.

LAWN MOWER (photomorph) & AT THE MEETING (dream narrative) by Roswila

AT THE MEETING

the folk for the meeting gather
on a spreading grassy field
surrounded by low trees,
white wood chairs set up
in a large circle at the center

a therapist of some sort or other
watches as an aging couple
settles into chairs side by side

she picks at him and flirts
with other men, while he,
gentle and mildly mentally
handicapped, accepts her
abuse as unremarkable

the therapist clearly would like
the man to learn to stand up
to the woman and makes subtle
comments to encourage him to do so

the expression "comes the dawn"
would be appropriate for the look
on the man's face when he
finally gets the therapist's gist

he softly but firmly tells her off,
but his sunny smile and the pride
that had begun to radiate from it,
fade quickly when no one in the group
cares to step up to become his new
companion, the therapist the first
to stop paying any attention
to him at all

he sits on the hard chair, long after
the meeting is over, lost and alone
and deeply sad, already
missing the woman's energy
and, yes, even her way of always
telling him how and what to do
and not to get it wrong for a change

it seems that loneliness may do
as much damage as abuse


[narrative on a dream of 1-6-16. Photomorph "Lawn Mower" (3-31-15 016v4) 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.

EL NIÑO DREAM #2 (photomorph) & EL NIÑO (free verse poem) by Roswila

EL NIÑO

lightning...thunder!
the dream instantly
breaks into shards under
a second visit in two days
from the wild boy child

the bedclothes cocoon invitingly
but the day's imperatives
refuse to go back to sleep

opening curtains reveal
a nearly colorless
rain soaked street scene below

punctuated by the first sighting in ages
of an umbrella bobbing along
like a bright blue bird


[free verse poem about losing a dream in the morning of 1-6-16, and about the start of the El Niño season here in drought ridden CA. Photomorph "El Niño Dream #2" (11-24-15 049v3a) 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.

DIVING INTO THE BLUE (photo) & MONSTROUS MELANGE (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

MONSTROUS MELANGE

patches of floor disappear
just disappear, simply aren't there anymore
most don't even have time to square up
as they fall through into nothingness,
a mass exodus of wobbly parquet pieces
yikes! there'll be nothing left to stand on
much less to support tables, chairs,
what-have-you
and the colors! the hair raising colors
bleeding up from the ongoing flapping
of opening holes, nay, more like
tsunamis in rainbows
of raging color that crest
on the remaining bits of floor
then recede into the shapeless
disappearance of floor bits,
dragging debris along with them,
lending painfully bright neon lights
to all that's lost,
and the only color missing
from this monstrous melange?
true blue


[free verse poem on a dream of 1-4-16. Photo "Diving Into the Blue" (11-27-15 014v3) 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.

MOUNTAIN ROADS (photomorph) & IT'S TIME... (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

IT'S TIME...

the upper and lower winding roadways
with their surrounding berms
were just painted two different colors,
and as always the fresh efforts
are not the same colors as the old ones,
that flaked off even as the new
were carefully brushed on

also as always, it depends
on which time of day
the new colors are viewed:
the lower now going from cherry red
to a pale rose as the sun sets,
the upper from a dusty dark charcoal
to moonlight silver

over the years this difference in color
has eased, in the earliest years
the lower once changed at sun fall
from an eye popping blue
to a blaring yellow, while the upper turned
from bruise purple to angry orange,
only a vague pearlescence
slightly softening the glare

for all the changes over the years,
though, there was only one attempt
to whitewash it all, to avoid
the often trippy morphing of colors
as sunlight left the sky,
but the wash did not take,
was carried away with each flaking
off of the old colors beneath

and eventually the radical color
conversions under sunset eased,
to arrive at this newest soft rose colored
roadway complemented by the silver
ribbon of the other road winding along,
an unexpected bouquet
offered by the closing eye of the sun


[free verse poem on a dream of 1-3-16. This dream felt like a birthday gift, and today is indeed my birthday (72nd). Photomorph "Mountain Roads" (12-8-15 010v7c) 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.

AT THE CORE (photo) & ON VICTORY (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

ON VICTORY

the army's triumphant:
each fighter returns to full size
before my eyes, protection
on the microcosmic level
no longer needed since
this far reaching victory

squadron after squadron returns
to human size again in a wink,
from nothing more than organized
dust mote dimensions

a party atmosphere pervades the massive
courtyard that stretches on into apparent
infinity on all sides and easily
accommodates all this popping
back to full size

I'm touched by the rising celebratory
mood all the way to my hidden
habitually doubting core

even if this wondrous scene recalls
the magnified view inside
a shaken snow globe,
joy still rides down the air,
glittering as it touches one and all,
briefly uniting the world


[free verse poem on a dream of 1-1-16. Photo "At the Core" (4-2-11 10698v5) 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.