WIPING THE PLATTER CLEAN (photomorph) & WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN

damnation!! I knew Dad saw me put that small
package of cookies away on the cabinet shelf,
and now I have to deal with his “request” to go
dig out one of the biggest for him -- no use to
point out I’m on a massively tight budget and
they’re the first treat I’ve bought for myself
in some time -- and, as luck would have it,
we’re in a huge rush to get to an appointment
on time -- leave it to him to insist on this now
-- not only that, but he’s always such a pain
in the butt when it comes to food, he’s just a
big fuss budget -- I can see I’m not gonna
get outta this mishigoss* quickly -- let’s
see, OK, he wanted the biggest but the big
ones aren’t chocolate chip and he will almost
certainly not want this huge oatmeal one
even with the bright cherry in its middle;
sigh, as that old joke in an entirely different
vein goes, “size matters,” so I’ll offer him
the oatmeal one anyway -- ack! just as
I’d thought, he’s grousing that it’s not
chocolate chip! see if I ever stash away
my goodies within his sight ever again
-- there’s no winning with this
Evil-Eye Fleegle**


[free verse poem on a dream of 8-14-19. *The Yiddish spelling of this word is “mishegoss.” But I've also seen it as I spell it above, with no reference to it's being Yiddish and with a very slightly different meaning. Either meaning will do within the context of this dream, as it basically can be said to mean “mess.” **Evil-Eye Fleegle, a comic book character who was often invoked by my parents in my childhood. (Scoll down on the page the link is to, for more info about this character.) I haven’t thought of it in (it must be) a great many years. So, it gave me quite a giggle to recall dreaming it. I also find the two sexual allusions (“size matters” and “cherry”) amusing, if also fraught with meaning. (Especially given my childhood history of sexual abuse within the family.) I’d be less than honest if I didn’t mention that the “Dad” in the dream was a combo of my father and a man currently in my life. (He looked like a youngish version of my Dad, but felt very much like that man I know now.) And do I even need to point out the basic metaphor of food? My primary addiction? Additionally, we’re under a full moon right now. I could go on, but I’ll leave it be. This is one of those many layered dreams that I’ll be thinking about for some time to come. Photomorph “Wiping the Platter Clean” (7-28-09 4458v7c[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.

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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.