THE BIG TUMBLE (photomorph) & IT (ALWAYS) COMES BACK TO KITTENS (dream narrative) by Roswila

IT (ALWAYS) COMES BACK TO KITTENS

they're a rather scruffy bunch of dark
grey tabby kittens, even so they prompt
a smile from me as I wander by them
playing in the shadows
of the restaurant
on the wharf

what grabs and holds my attention and
doesn't let go of the nape of my neck like
a mother her wriggling kitten, is a dark
haired woman announcing sotto voce
her intent to commit suicide

she stands by the old, beat up car she'd
been driving and just stepped out of onto
the sun hot floorboards of the otherwise
totally empty wharf, her announcement
and eye contact with me
happening simultaneously

my mind unwinds like an ancient roll
of camera film as I consider a series of
ways in which I could frame a response:
my first offering to her is voluntary
commitment to a facility dedicated to
helping people in her straits but she
begins to back away, skittish, and I'm
afraid she'll just drive off

I know something has to change and
soon, as I can sense that her resolve to self
destruct is hardening, drying and sticking
fast in the hot sunlight: I next suggest she go
to the hospital complex very near this wharf,
adding gently that medical insurance will
cover it even if the hospital does other sorts
of medical care as they have a unit set aside
just for folk in dire emotional straits

her eyes lay bare the depths of her doubt
and pain but she nods "yes" once and gets
behind the wheel of her car again; the hair
stands up on the back of my neck: "That
was an awfully close one!" I think,
somehow certain she'll go to the hospital

the kittens still tumble through the shadows
as I pass them on my return walk: should
I pick one up and cuddle it? "Nah," I
mumble to myself, they're probably feral,
better to briefly appreciate their antics
but leave them well enough alone,
and get on with my long walk home


[narrative on a dream of 6-28-18. That "always" in the title ties this kitten dream to the many others I've had over the years. One very recently. I tend to relate to kitten imagery as representing anger, i.e. based on that expression "Don't have kittens!" Click here if you're interested in reading the kitten dream of a couple weeks ago. Photomorph "The Big Tumble" (5-13-18 034v2p) 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.