THAT OLD DEVIL YOU (photomorph) & THE DEVIL INSIDE (dream writing) by Roswila

THE DEVIL INSIDE

shall I begin at the ending (going
straight ahead gets boring after
all these years of telling
in the established, accepted,
nay, mandated order)?

OK, at the ending, is her repeated yelling
“She’s got The Devil inside!”
(“She” Being me, of course …)

Well, that novelty of working forwards
from the back end, wore off quickly,
therefore, I’ll back off and share
this night dream by beginning at start:

I recall keeping a bunch of folk waiting
as I try to help a rather befuddled
but well-meaning man put up
a thoughtful notice at the head
of the line we’re in

you’d think this line of agitated folk
were all going to miss out on the deal
of the century, they all mumble
and grumble so at our backs as I
work to help the confused man
finish his small but considerate
effort, getting more anxious myself
by the second

I finally manage to guide him tactfully
away from the front of the line,
turning to the others grousing behind us
and telling them with an irritated
edge to my voice that we’ll be out
of their ways now quickly

well, you might think I cursed at them,
the variety of P.O.’d responses I get
(and of course, all of it said, dripping
with sarcasm and an implication that
they’re in the right) when from among
them one female voice pipes up
above the rest to accuse:
“She’s got The Devil inside!”

how does one deal with the totally
uncalled for rancor in this response,
and worse yet cope graciously if she
actually harbors a belief in what
she’s saying (yes, “saying,” as she keeps
repeating it, cutting me off each
time I open my mouth to respond,
her total calm highlighted by
a little smile)

it’s not the end of this dream story,
but I’ll stop this recapitulation
here, as I haven’t a clue what to do
about any of it (in or outside
of the dream), for I’ve seen my fair
share of devils in others and myself
and we all, will we or nill we,
knowingly or not,
stumble down our unique
paths to Hell


[written on a dream of 1-29-19. Yeah, rather negative but this dream does reflect how I’m feeling way too often these days. My compassion (for both others and myself) is clearly very challenged. Photomorph “That Old Devil You” (t blog & gallery, 11-10-18) 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.