SHADOWS ON THE MOVE (photomorph) & SHADOW TRIANGULATION (free verse dream poem) by Roswila

SHADOW TRIANGULATION

first, it’s a red-headed woman: she’s cleaned my
rooms without even asking me! hey, no matter
that they really needed it! it’s the invasion and
the lack of respect for my independence that’s
so odious, worse than all that gossiping
about me I’ve always sensed she does;

then, it’s a somewhat portly blonde female,
whose mind is so wobbly I fear having anything
to do with her at all, as if any contact, even a
gentle smile from me, could knock her out of
her precarious balance into a tornadic spin:
why, oh, why is she talking to me?!?

and lastly, there’s her, a woman I’ve
known the longest and always feared for her
ability to sway social situations so thoroughly
and extensively; after all, I’m not the most
welcome in or adept at swimming my way
through the shoals she manages to navigate
readily, even as she re-organizes them to
her own liking;

what do these three distinct angles on the
female of our species point to about me, the
depressed and deeply insecure fourth: does
each tell me something that I cannot see
about myself* … sigh, like all well-defined
shadows do …

and an ancient memory** spreads like spilled
ink through the dream: shadows build beneath
tall, harsh street lights on a narrow empty
midnight street, as I approach and walk down
concrete steps to a basement space, alone and
vaguely content to once again stand in this
sparsely furnished room with pale yellow
lamplight the only thing hanging on
the bare white walls for my perusal


[free verse poem on a dream of 9-12-19. * I do, every once in a great while, begin analyzing a dream while I’m still dreaming. ** And I was ever so slightly aware – in the dream – that this last is a memory. (A rather dreamlike memory from my childhood; I could not have been more than 5 or 6 years old.) BTW, for info on the term “shadow” in a psychological sense: Jungian shadow. Photomorph “Shadows on the Move” (ScreenShots many 2-05-19[4]) 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.