MANIPULATION GONE WILD (photomorph) & ON BEING PROSELYTIZED (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

ON BEING PROSELYTIZED

that they’ve sent me a flyer for their event after all these years
of nothing from them (happily) leads me to believe (and very
strongly) they’re after me again to get involved with their
church and even (as I almost … phew! … a great many years
ago did) join as one of the faithful; as always, they’re trying
to draw me in by emphasizing their arts program; and get this!
their arts clubs and classes and showcases were always – and
from this flyer, still are – housed in their basement; as I read
through the masses (pun intended) of info on this text-dense
sheet of paper, I remember how lighting (too little) and heat
(too much or not enough) had always been an issue in that
barren, below street-level space -- used at other times for their
lunch program for the indigent; yeah, and starving artists (you
should pardon another pun, though in some cases “starving”
was not then and is not now so far off the mark) should also be
aided by the community that they offer their work to and
for whom they express important concerns: but at what cost!?
I’ve never been able to tolerate being proselytized, I can spot
it at 20 paces no matter how carefully camouflaged, especially
when it’s my soul being grasped after beneath all the whiz
and flash bang of the sell; so, no matter how
attractively it’s packaged they can’t inveigle me;
I guess for all my echoing emptiness,
I’m just not hungry enough


[free verse poem on a dream of 9-14-19. This is most basically (right now in my life) about relationships. That pressure we put on each other to be someone other than who we are for our own personal comfort or gain. (To be kinder, sometimes because we think it’s the right thing to do in order to “save” or “help” someone.) An additional input to this dream is the fact that there is also a certain amount of both subtle and no so subtle religious proselytizing going on where I live. BTW, this dream drew its imagery from an actual time in my long-ago youth. I did almost join a church, having been drawn in by their (basement-housed) arts program(s). The upshot to this all -- and the irony being -- I want very much to belong. It just has never worked out for me; it has always cost way too much or turned out to be a sham. I’m a bit hesitant to admit this here, but I feel pretty much the same way about relationships. BWL (big wry laugh), I started these comments saying as much. Photomorph “Manipulation Gone Wild” (4-14-12 11684v2) 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.