IT'S A LONG CLIMB (photo) & ANT-SCAPADE (non-dream vignette) by Roswila

ANT-SCAPADE

"You've got ants, dear," the customer
says to my surprise and I thank her
for the heads up as I stand to check
out the three stock laden shelves
... Yikes! there are endless trails of ants
along the shelving, to and fro, up and
over the wall behind, and zipping along
the narrow edges of the shelves ...
"But none of the stock packages are
opened," I declare to my co-worker,
even as I start mashing at the blighters
with a Kleenex; however, I might as
well be waving a flag of surrender
for all the effect this has on the steadily
advancing army; my co-worker calls
for help from our maintenance crew,
as I go on with my futile smashing
while also waiting on the occasional
customer, but no mashing there, of
course, only gratitude for their patience
and good humor; then my co-worker
takes most of the stock off the shelves
outdoors to dump the acrobatic ants
back in nature which is really the only
good place for them after all; next,
our maintenance guy arrives, chasing
down their trail in the store with ant
spray; the blighters I now mash are
rather slow and groggy, stoned out of
their minds, I guess; what a pass their
search for water's brought them to ...
my co-worker returns from outdoors
saying she'd opened the carton of
cookie packages even though it was
still sealed, to be sure nothing was
awry within it, and there it was:
a broken open package of Famous
Amos cookies in which the ants
were celebrating en masse, and I
laugh out loud, adding that they
may have come for the water, but
they stayed for the famous cookies


[a vignette about actual incident of 9-6-17, written 9-8-17. This took place in our retirement community's convenience store, where I volunteer regularly as a clerk. Ants invade our spaces on occasion and we've had a spate of them around our grounds recently. Years back, I had to deal with them in my rooms. They were even crawling out of my light switch wall plates. Ack! Photo "It's A Long Climb" (9-9-17 002v2) 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.

BLUE ROCKS OUT (photomorph) & TAKING THE LEAD (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

TAKING THE LEAD

the dream poem doesn't want
to be written, false start after false
start litters the page; like my 12 year old
self's dream steps toward the dark wood
stage, the poem's early words move forward
then freeze for crossing out, then flow again,
finally staying in the spotlight of vision to
dance as my adolescent self did in the dream
contest, partnered by my older self:

once I realize my adolescent self's not
going to shy away again from my waltz
hold, I whisper in her ear "You remember,
don't you? what it means when you're held
this way? You have to take the lead"

my girl self looks at me with scared
resolve (after all, she's only taken
two classes in waltzing) and nods,
leading me gently into a series of
opening 3/4 time swirls, her old
dark dress transforming magically
into a frothy, palest blue gown

and I whisper again "It's time to
spin in the other direction, I know
you'll do just fine with the transition"
and she leads us through not only
correctly, but elegantly; we finish
the waltz to what feels like genuine
applause from the unseen audience

to both of our delights (and my girl
self's utter surprise), we win first prize;
she stands holding her small silver
trophy, gazing at it with a mix
of pride and bemusement; yes, I
can imagine her feelings: nigh on
to no experience and then having
to take the lead, but sometimes
the courage to stay with what
the moment both demands
and offers works wonders


[free verse poem on a dream of 9-6-17. I'd love to be certain that this is what's happening, not a simple wish fulfillment dream. But just like waking life, dreams are more often unclear and take twisty, hard to follow paths, than they are straightforward. This one has precipitated several, many leveled questions for a Tarot reading I'll do later today. Of course, Tarot and dreams behave in very much the same way. So when I consult the Tarot on a dream its sort of like triangulation: get different angles in addition to the dream's and I just might find that point I'm trying to locate. Photomorph "Blue Rocks Out" (8-30-10 10019v12b) 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.

SET UP FOR THE STING (photomorph) & AFTERNOON ENCOUNTER (non-dream free verse poem) by Roswila

AFTERNOON ENCOUNTER

be gone, bee!!
stop buzzin' 'round my head
I don't need any more busyness
in my bonnet; its catacombs
are already crowded enough
and none of its denizens even
vaguely resembles a blossom
today ... OK, OK, so you've
made me laugh out loud
with your loopy persistence
after each of my dismissive
waves; but don't get cocky,
I'm all too aware of your
reputation and I'm not about
to let myself
get stung!


[non-dream free verse poem written 9-5-17. Photomorph "Set Up For The Sting" (8-15-17 003v5) 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.

STARLESS (photomorph) & WHIRRING PROJECTORS (dream based free verse poem) by Roswila

WHIRRING PROJECTORS

always interesting, isn't it?
the dream detail one has trouble
remembering: I could blame today's
struggle to recall on the heat and humidity
last night that made for an uncomfortable
sleep, intruding as it did on the story line
each time I'd fall back to sleep
and continue with the confrontation

the story plays out in the same setting
as a dream of months ago: I'm at a nighttime
poolside party, hauling a handsome man
behind me by his large hand to look
at a book of photos a friend and I
had discovered in the bushes:

look at this woman's face, I say,
pointing to the full-color cover photo,
are you sure what you see in her
constantly changing expression
is what's actually there?

and is her expression even changing all
that much, or are you and I and everyone
else seeing what the whirring projectors
in our own minds layer over it: a thin, nearly
invisible, distorting movie of our own needs
and wants and fears flickering there at a safe,
long taken-for-granted distance like
cold star light on her unknown face


[free verse poem on a dream of 9-3-17 (posted 9-5-17). I was vaguely lucid (knowing one is dreaming, while one is dreaming), as I dreamed this. Evidenced by my briefly recalling a dream from months ago, within this dream.] Photomorph "Starless" (8-29-17 026v3) & Poem by Patricia Kelly (C) 2017

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.

WANNABE VIOLIN (photomorph) & NIGHT MUSIC (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

NIGHT MUSIC

his young male face intense,
the professional musician listens
closely as my father plays a piano solo:
a well-known classical piece, that I,
too, am familiar with

I glance up at the young man for his
verification as I say "Ah, here comes
that thread of a theme that the composer
wove so intricately throughout," while
my father plays this thread note-by-note,
no fillips or fanciful turns, just a simple
one-handed tune that has haunted me
my entire life as I've stumbled across
faint echoes of it in my search for healing

then my father's playing reaches the elegantly
embroidered section, abounding with sustain
pedal work, and over- and under-tones;
I'm astounded at how much better my father's
two-handed playing is than I'd ever recalled,
not only creatively interpretive and incredibly
fast, but accurate, each of the many, many
layers of notes swathing the night
in sweet healing

the young man's face now shines
with astonishment, just as I'm sure that mine
must now reveal my pride: that's my Dad!


[free verse poem on a dream of 9-2-17. Amazing how one can have an exceptionally awful day and have a dream like this. I feel some part of me is healed. At the very least, I feel determined to leave shame behind. Ah! And I just recalled Dad's birthday is coming up (September 22). Photomorph "Wannabe Violin" (8-29-17 005v2) 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.

LEANING INTO THE NIGHT (photo) & ON BEING BECALMED (non-dream free verse poem) by Roswila

ON BEING BECALMED

and so you tell me (as if it's a request
almost too obvious to state) that you only
want me in my Mother Earth form,
dripping with naked sweetness,
and that I should leave all the others
outside your door

well, dear heart and not-so-gentleman,
if you really desire Mother Earth
you'll have to embrace the occasional
volcano and tsunami and tornado
and earthquake (hopefully not all
at once, of course)

though, seriously and worse yet,
you'll have to stand with me in those
totally becalmed times
beneath a starless midnight sky
on a sea with no horizon

for when all the wind is out
of our sails, and the dark threatens
to smother us, that is when
we discover who we've never
been and who we might still be


[non-dream free verse poem written 9-3-17. This started with some residual anger at a man I'd not been aware of. But as I wrote and edited and edited, it expanded. It's now almost a letter to the world. This expansion of the initial poetic impetus happens with most of my poems. In fact, I usually have very little idea at all where a poem wants to go until it's been written. I follow its lead, sometimes to surprising places. Photo "Leaning Into the Night" (8-21-17 006v4) 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.