HAIR RAISING (photo) & THOUGHTLESS (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

THOUGHTLESS

the youngish, dark haired woman
comes toward me, gesticulating wildly
as she glances, again and again,
back behind her at the old concrete bridge:
"Do you see that mess, and it was just
cleaned up after the last thoughtless
trashing it was given, there's no respect
anymore for what continues to serve
us well, much less cultural tradition"
I back away from her fury (it being
too much like mine to bear)
and wind up in a capacious living
room, rather more like the library
in some modernized castle,
in which Princess Diana tries
to describe to a visiting psychologist
just why she relates the way she does,
what purpose or meaning her
graciousness attempts to serve,
the psychologist listens closely, then
interjects the single word "Politeness?"
(clearly meaning, is this what
you're referring to) as she nods
a slow, yet dubious "yes,"
"But that's not really the point," she adds,
"it's not about a book of manners
to be followed to the letter
for the sake of being correct,
but rather about the repercussions
of ill considered words and actions
lobbed like missiles into our midst"


[free verse poem on a dream of 3-18-16. Photo "Hair Raising" (8-10-14 009v2) 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 other blogs: ROSWILA'S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA'S TAIGA TAROT; TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT; and THE MARKER TAROT.

BUBBLING TO THE SURFACE (photomorph) & SHARKS (on a dream) by Roswila

SHARKS

they say it's for me to dive down
and retrieve what was dropped into
the deeper water around the bend
of this long walkway on the water

rather than argue I go along, and just
as I'm swimming to the object underwater
to bring it up onto the old wharf, it
falls even further into a narrow trench

and by the faint light of its luminescence
I see two sharks circling fitfully
around it, maybe hammerheads,
but its too murky to say

no way I'm going near that object now,
I think, and I surface quickly to find
the man in charge and tell him
about the sharks

in the time I was below, a crowd
of animals, both domestic and wild,
has gathered, anxiously waiting to see
the parade of floats due to start soon,
their babies splashing happily
in the nearby beach shallows,
and I realize what drew the sharks
into these waters

definitely not what I'd been diving for,
not that little aquarium with it's faint
light and aeration pump bubbling away
in the deeps around the bend

that's funny, I think, a box of water
sunk into deep water ... ah well, retrieval
will just have to wait for a quieter
and less dangerous time

to keep the peace, I was willing to do what
was expected of me and dive, but will not
go so far as to knowingly swim with sharks


[on a dream of 3-17-16. Yikes! A lion of unclear motives yesterday, and now two sharks (and all those animals on the wharf and in the ocean's edge). Messengers for sure, but about what? I have my suspicions, but will need to think a lot more. I just now googled for shark symbolism and was astounded at this on shark meanings. Phew! This has definitely cast a different light on the dream/writing. On first reading about shark symbolism, I thought maybe I should rewrite that ending. But I'm stetting it, as it is one level to the dream. Photomorph "Bubbling to the Surface" (11-6-14 009v2a) 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 other blogs: ROSWILA'S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA'S TAIGA TAROT; TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT; and THE MARKER TAROT.

THE LION'S ROAR (photomorph) & LION (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

LION

the small dark, rather young man
and I are curled up together in bed
in my long ago third floor apartment,
waiting for sleep to come after much
struggle trying to work out our host
of painful differences, or at least
come to some mutual acceptance

I shift to get more comfortable
just as a huge, golden maned lion
appears out of nowhere, in powerful,
haughty mid-stride

it's the biggest lion I've ever seen
and it utterly terrifies me, I turn
to the man and see him staring
in wide eyed fear, too

all I can think is: why is it here?!
even as I am teased by the promise
of lion dream symbolism: such as
courage and protection and leadership,
not to mention facing one's shadow

but all we can do is stay frozen
in place and breathe as shallowly
as possible so as not to capture
this huge beast's attention

we watch as it pads steadily across
the room toward the glass terrace
doors, and it's suddenly standing
outside on the concrete terrace,
clearly seeking a way down, through
the three stories of empty air
to the front yard and street

and then the lion's gone, simply gone

were we just shown a way out
of our long entanglement
that we could not see, or was this
frightening, disruptive visit
just another incursion of ferocious
denial, another "lyin'" promise


[free verse poem on a dream of 3-16-16. The apartment was the one I lived in for 23 years in New York City (before I moved here to CA in 2008). Photomorph "The Lion's Roar" (4-19-14 003v5c) 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 other blogs: ROSWILA'S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA'S TAIGA TAROT; TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT; and THE MARKER TAROT.

THE UNBEATEN HEART (photomorph) & HARD ENOUGH (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

HARD ENOUGH

... and so she goes on singing
that old song that always
tightens her chest and starts
a lump in her throat, wondering
even as she does, why?
"Love me tender...Love me true...
All my dreams fulfilled...For my darlin'
I love you...And I always will..."
waiting anxiously between each group
of words for the next ones to surface
in her sleep, but the tune rises
without any waiting or effort at all
and, even as she dreams on,
aware she's aware she's dreaming,
she recalls that the tune is that of an old
Civil War song, and an "ah HAH,"
pops sharply into her dreaming mind:
love's always an effort to find
much less express, but the war
that pits side against side
goes on beneath it all, an ever
present tide of grief, through which
the love ascends, if one is lucky
and listens hard enough


[free verse poem on a dream of 3-15-16. The tune to "Love Me Tender" is actually from an old Civil War tune, "Aura Lee." And "Love Me Tender" does tend to make me weepy when I hear it. Photomorph "The Unbeaten Heart" (4-29-14 012v4) 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 other blogs: ROSWILA'S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL

; ROSWILA'S TAIGA TAROT; TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT; and THE MARKER TAROT.

LOSING FACE (photomorph) & PUTTING ON A BAD FACE (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

PUTTING ON A BAD FACE

he's said to be a serial murderer
but somehow I doubt he's anywhere
nearly as bad as his reputation

but, as usual with scuttlebutt,
it's determined how he's treated
and what's expected of him (that's
his face on that wanted poster)

over the years (it's certainly
no mystery why) he's grown
to believe what others say of him,
now he sits there, his broken leg up
in a cast and radiating a forced,
sere pride even after being arrested

yeah, I get it, make lemonade out
of lemons, even if they're poison
and, speaking of which, that knife
he just drew out of nowhere
is dripping venom that sizzles
when he draws it in one lengthy
stroke up the cast, as the cop
lunges to stop him

oh, come on, what does anyone
else, authority or otherwise,
care what he does (even if he offs
himself) they've already had
a kangaroo trial and found
him guilty, with the foregone
conclusion that he'll be sentenced
to execution

why not just let him go out
in his own time and way:
putting on a bad face


[free verse poem on a dream of 3-14-17. Photomorph "Losing Face" (8-14-14 005v12b) 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 other blogs: ROSWILA'S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA'S TAIGA TAROT; TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT; and THE MARKER TAROT.

THE MOOD SPREADS (photomorph) & ANGST (on a dream) by Roswila

ANGST

another dream in which a child's lost,
in this case taken by another woman,
and at least, this time, not my own child
but that of a woman friend who's anger
and frantic determination to get
him back from the thief's been defining
who she is and what she does for some time,
all while I do my best to make the move
from a small seaside town to my old
stomping grounds of New York City smooth
and inexpensive, even as I bear up under her
(certainly understandable) angst, and then I
realize I simply haven't got any energy
to make it to my job today, and it's getting
too late anyway (sigh), guess I'll just be
a no-show, again ... the more things change,
the more they stay the same


[on a dream of 3-13-16. Photomorph "The Mood Spreads" (8-22-14 002v1b) 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 other blogs: ROSWILA'S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA'S TAIGA TAROT; TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT; and THE MARKER TAROT.

BEYOND THE STAIRS (photo) & BELOW STAIRS (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

BELOW STAIRS

the immigrant servants live below stairs,
their quarters large, if sparsely furnished

they've just been gifted, I'm told by one
upstairs boss, with a large new mirror
to hang by the main entrance to their rooms,
that another boss goes on to claim as proof
of how well they treat the servants

I then join a small group tour
to see this proof, and not only that,
yet another upstairs boss says, but to at least
meet these hard working folk face-to-face

and so I stop before the mirror stand
on a long empty hallway table,
noting it's smaller than I'd envisioned
but nicely framed in chrome and black,
and that the servants can choose to switch
what mirror hangs there if they wish to

a young dark haired servant sees me
admiring the mirror and comments
in his accented English, not a hint
of wryness in his friendly tone:

"but all we want
is to get our lives back"


[free verse poem on a dream of 3-12-16. Photo "Beyond the Stairs" (9-20-14 030v2a) 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 other blogs: ROSWILA'S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA'S TAIGA TAROT; TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT; and THE MARKER TAROT.