LEONINE THIRST (photo) & THE THORN (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

THE THORN

he calls out the names of Runes
only after I've already moved far on
through the chilly evening

if he wanted to connect, to touch
in some way, why didn't he just talk
to me, rather than toss these ancient
words behind me in a hail
of unclear meaning

at which thought the last Rune name
lands on my ears: "Thurisaz," The Thorn,*
and an association instantly rises
that, oddly enough, it's pointing to
a need, as if he's the hurting lion
and I'm supposed to be Androcles**

and I think, ah, if only it were so simple,
I would brave this lion's maw anytime
to try to remove whatever thorn
it is he bears

but life is not a myth, nor encompassed
in a Rune reading, and here, once again,
he's let me pass on by, as I wonder if
this thorn of my own, rooted beside
my heart, will ever be extracted


[free verse poem on a dream of 4-25-17. * About Thurisaz. **In the myth, Androcles is a runaway slave, who has the courage to remove a thorn from the paw of a lion. The lion is befriended and later when they meet up again, the Emperor is so impressed with the power of their friendship that he frees Androcles. BTW, I've been pulling a Rune a day for some time now to refamiliarize myself with them. Yesterday I forgot to pull one and had this dream last night still not knowing I'd forgotten to get a daily Rune. Then, as I started working on this dream poem this morning, I discovered my forgetfulness and realized that here in this dream was my Rune for yesterday! Photo "Leonine Thirst" (4-19-17 001v3) 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.