BLOWN AWAY (photomorph) & A MATTER OF TIMING (a dream) by Roswila

A QUESTION OF TIMING

another repeating dream image:
hurrying to make it back in time
to avoid being shot by that man --
yeah, seemed silly even in
the dream, one would think
one would run away from and
not toward the gunman,
especially not again and again

then comes a change to the repeat
scenario: I and my usual vague
companion are running late; we're in
a bit of a panic as we might not
make it back to the scene of the
threatened shooting in time
to prevent it this time

and we don't; as we arrive it's clear
from the commotion we're way too
late, and then we hear the even worse
news: the shooter's taken down
twenty people instead of his initial
and repeated threat to shoot just two --
myself and my rather already
ghost-like companion

as I look up and down this all too
ordinary suburban street for the shooter
my panic rises, but again, not as one might
think to avoid being added to that deadly
toll, but in a gut wrenching concern for
the shooter himself

the tentative feeling of freedom from the
repeated threat that begins to fill my
limbs turns quickly leaden: could
my companion and I have prevented this
horrific end simply by arriving on time?


[on a dream of 12-3-18. Yep, talk about a sense of over-responsibility. There are also levels of anger and fear of it (both my own anger and that of others, especially men's). I was curious about the esoteric meaning of the number 20. I associated it to The Judgment card in the Tarot, which bears that number. But somehow I didn't resonate much with that card with respect to this dream (BTW, one of its flag words is "rebirth"). So I Googled and what jumped out at me was that 20 is primarily concerned with relationships. Lots to chew over there and in the rest of this disturbing dream. I hasten to add that I've also had the thought that it may not be as dark as it appears to be. BTW, in the beginning of the dream writing I mention "another repeating dream image" -- that's something that's been happening on and off for a while now. I.e., I keep going back to and over something I've just dreamed. Photomorph "Blown Away" (5-13-18 034v5) 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.