PORTRAIT EN GLACE (photomorph) & AN EASTER DREAM by Roswila

AN EASTER DREAM

ah! here’s another version of Anubis,* that jackal-headed
God, only this painting’s huge, tall and narrow, and nearly
life-size (if one can know what “life-size” would be a for
an ancient Egyptian Deity) and the other painting was just
an ad of some sort in a newspaper but impressive enough
that I’d saved the page; however, this one hanging before
me in an art studio display is the very essence of the ex-
pression “something else;” it’s been ages since anything’s
grabbed me so viscerally and with such joy; my teacher
watches me as he listens with his usual care while I tell him
how much I like this Anubis art work: the bronze highlights
on a nearly monotone palate, the painterly realism that ex-
poses more than any photo could, the casual grace of His
pose as if the viewer has just caught the attention of the
monumentally calm God; my art teacher listens closely to
my praise, then gently comments “I don’t like this Anubis
painting” in such a way as to get across a much deeper
animus; I’m quite surprised but listen as he goes on
(apparently on an entirely different tack altogether but
I’m not totally sure of this) to encourage me to get back
to my own exploration of the art of painting; then I
find myself standing before a huge square canvass in
a dark wood frame; I’ve finished painting what looks
to be a very soft, almost blurry portrait of a woman
from some time ago, maybe decades, maybe centuries;
I feel deeply related to her, if not literally, certainly
in some other sense, and start working on the tone
of the translucent glaze I want over the entire picture,
not for protection but for texture and more important
to get the proper color filter effect I’m after and will
only know when I accomplish it; the entire scene
begins to fade away around the edges of my vision,
as I start to apply the third layer of lightly tinted,
clear glaze to my artistic effort; how many more will
need to be carefully brushed on to achieve the color-
tone that feels right to me, and more concerning,
do I have enough time left to keep layering
glazes on in my search for a tint I've not
yet found, before everything
fades out
to black


[a dream of 4-21-19, Easter Sunday. Although many, many years ago I did a lot of reading into all sorts of mythology, Anubis was not one that ever became of interest to me. Still, all that reading is in my unconscious somewhere, I’m sure. A massive, messy library, if you will. Even so, I was surprised when I Googled Anubis and (re)discovered he’s a psychopomp, a guide for the dead into the after-life (among much else, of course). To dream of him on Easter seems significant. Cutting to the chase (or I’d be typing here for another life-time), I think the most important message in this dream is for me to pay attention to my life, and stop all this depressive maundering about being at the end of life and having accomplished nothing but negative things. The end is real enough and will come soon enough. Live the time I have. Another important point is the issue of judgment: both judging others and myself. Instead, just do my work conscientiously and leave any judgment to Anubis and Maat’s feather. Quote from the internet: “In the weighing of the heart rite, the heart of the deceased is weighed in the scale against the feather of the goddess Maat, who personifies order, truth, and what is right.” It was woe to the one whose heart out-weighed Her feather. The rite was overseen by *Anubis. Photomorph “Portrait En Glace” (10-14-14 010v2c[2]) 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.