Roswila's Dream & Poetry Realm

SEE ALSO: TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT (photos, realistic to abstract)

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

ALL DAILY DREAMKU POSTED IN MARCH 2009

Image: by Roswila, posted with dreamku of March 15, 2009 below

This is one of those month’s I feel stumped to say anything clarifying about. I do find this dreamku from March 24, 2009, quite amusing:

the large frying pan’s
labels slide to one side
more room for my butt

As if labeling things is no help when your butt is in the frying pan!

And the end of this month was complicated by some celebration and mourning of the birthday and brief life of a boy I’d raised who was killed just before he turned 15. Here’s only one of the dreams that reflects this, from March 23, 2009:

it’s the softest dream
of all from this busy night
fading as I wake
I clutch at its warm edges
like a blanket for the day

there was a young man
in my now thread bare dream
the day’s images hook
on memory but only
frustrating echos land

It was this dream that led me to remember that his birthday is March 22 and that he would have been 40.

I’ve recently read and reviewed here the book THE SECRET HISTORY OF DREAMING which has re-awakened me to the idea of “big dreams.” Dreams some folk have that carry import beyond their personal lives, with messages for their communities. So another problem I’m having with looking at this month’s dreams is my sense of how intensely personal my dreams are – and also my way of working with them. I almost feel apologetic for this focus. Yet I also believe that whatever any single person brings back from the dreaming world that enriches their own life, enriches the lives of those around them. So I suppose I’m suffering from a little bit of “big dream envy.” LOL! I can’t point to some amazing huge tapestry of a dream with clear messages for those around me, but I can continue to be grateful for the little pieces of beach glass that wash up on the shore of my mornings, and learn from and share them here.


ALL DAILY DREAMKU POSTED IN MARCH 2009


March 1, 2009

he wants to drum from
the conference room ceiling
expecting others
to lift him up no matter
their own needs or wishes

she says assistance
after informed consent is fine
two young volunteers

[dream tanka and dreamku on one dream]



March 2, 2009

he’s owed much money
from past therapy clients
paid up now in part
this former lover of mine’s
more grateful for the acknowledgment

[dream tanka]



March 3, 2009

she uses clear bags
to protect her shoed feet
greasy left-overs squish



March 4, 2009

it’s hard to pinpoint
that classroom I met him in
dark-haired young suitor



March 5, 2009

she answers my call
then hangs right up
at least she’s alive



March 6, 2009

she seduces me
with caresses as we look at
the sunlit ocean,
the shore curving on the right ...
I’m grateful for my new life

she leaves abruptly
with the boyfriend I’d not known of
her cavalier good-bye

[dream tanka and dreamku on one dream]



March 7, 2009

a spare modern theater
two long rows of balconies
among which I sit
watching the many film clips
many seats down, my uncle

ambivalence reigns
I pass where I think he sits
will he notice me
this judgmental old uncle
I always so loved

men in the audience
leer at a chesty actress
in a low-cut dress
inappropriate, I think
the way she’s been costumed

my wish to be seen
overridden by sexual threat
safety in darkness

[three dream tanka and a dreamku on one dream]



March 8, 2009

he spoons her closely
she dreams singing "Love look away..."
all night through



March 9, 2009

crude young guys
leer at my breasts and butt
uninvited partiers
I threaten them with a burkah
and leave to get new music

I’m followed by
a woman from India
gracious and friendly
she’s impressed my music choice
was produced in Mumbai

[two dream tanka on one dream]



March 10, 2009

she picks up a large
black and white furry snake
a smaller honey-hued one
left in the mud as she shuts
the woven basket lid

after our swamp hike
I share an irony
the snake lifts it’s head
speaking from the open basket
humans are as nuts as we



March 11, 2009


the long-haired pirate
galumphs his handsome way down
the length of his ship
the first to make himself known
of two men said to be mine

[dream tanka; Image: The Emperor (IV) in The Tarot of the Pirates]


March 12, 2009

I stuff my garbage
disguised to look just like theirs
among their full cans
I do not want to be caught
and fly off through the cool night

[dream tanka]



March 13, 2009

my long-deceased friend
completes her application
for employment
she’s apparently faking
a thirteen year reference

a chalk white full page the black fine print


[dream tanka and monoku on one dream]



March 14, 2009


I DON’T BUY IT

he leaves before
finishing my haircut
my loud complaints

another man says
to count all electric* outlets
I can’t and wouldn’t

alone with spiky hair
and a physical challenge
large echoing store


[dreamku series on one dream]

*I was not aware of the “electric Saturn/Uranus” astrological aspect yesterday until after writing this this morning. We Capricorns may have been even more effected than many as Saturn is our sun sign’s ruler. Unfortunately, I did have a late night electric-like encounter (read: argument).



March 15, 2009

[see horese head illustration at top of post]

they find a good mate
for the rare sleek black stallion
as she’s still too young
he courts her carefully
teaching her mating posture

a film clip close-up
reveals she’s not a true horse
but a leggy feline
the auburn fur on her large
horse-like frame shiny and soft

she enters heat early
the aroused stallion paces
the narrator speaks
of the hope for offspring
to save this stallions’s blood-line


[three dream tanka on one dream]



March 17, 2009

best he close his eyes
while she makes love to him
for the sight of her
would not be beautiful
and much too close to real


[dream tanka]



March 18, 2009

THE MADDING CROWD

they’re to be married
in a huge amphitheater
filling steadily
with a massive crowd of folk
there for different events

I’m squashed as I inch
along to my seat in the
star-lit arena
determined not to attend
a live event again

the madding crowd
how can nuptials be squeezed
into this disorder


[two dream tanka & one dreamku on one dream]



March 19, 2009

MATCHED PANTS RARELY GET MUCH WEAR

carton after carton
arrives at the empty store
several young folk
receive and unpack them all
in a flurry of hard work

I’m impressed with how fast
they’ve set up this airy space
a young guy smiles
his confidence denying
that they just moved in today

a small dark woman
shows me into a large room
sparsely filled with racks
of designer used clothing
in colorful matched sets

matched pants rarely get
much wear, she sagely comments
has she read my mind
as I look for practical
plain black slacks on the racks

I amble into
a carpeted room, empty
but for my father
I slip into his arms
for our agreed upon dance

take care with my knee
I whisper as we adjust
our holds on each other
what to not to buy or buy
forgotten in this embrace

[six dream tanka on one dream]



March 20, 2009

the small dark woman
doesn’t have enough pictures
to make her boxes
an unseen chorus chimes in
“Just look underneath your chair!”


[dream tanka]



March 21, 2009

CLOSET PARTY

I sweep up the dirt
from the small closet carpet
his critical glance

why not cover it
with a bright patterned cloth
his question-demand

she buys pink and white
party decorations
her reaction

I'm not invited
to this denial party
her boy runs to me

[dreamku series on one dream]



March 22, 2009

FUMBLING MY WAY TOWARD HOME

her sudden weight loss
is amazing and looks great
lavender bikini

my envy fades
I search for my own bathing suit
and wander off
small garden hills before me
lie open to exploring

a grit-filled wind starts
I breathe through a loose shirt sleeve
dropping to all fours
I shut my eyes and crawl
fumbling my way toward home

[one dreamku & two dream tanka on one dream]



March 23, 2009

it’s the softest dream
of all from this busy night
fading as I wake
I clutch at its warm edges
like a blanket for the day

there was a young man
in my now thread bare dream
the day’s images hook
on memory but only
frustrating echos land


[two dream tanka on one dream; I had this dream on March 21, the day before what would have been Matthew's 40th birthday (he was a boy I raised who could not have been more my son if I'd birthed him myself, who was killed as a 15 year-old); I'd been feeling a sadness for a couple days that I could not quite trace and now remembering his birthday I understand. I love and miss you, Matthew, and am grateful as always for your brief life.]



March 24, 2009

the large frying pan’s
labels slide to one side
more room for my butt



March 25, 2009

NO DENT MADE

he misleads her
into thinking she's wanted
new show rehearsal

he won't look at her
her irritation trumps
her embarrassment

windowless room
she stands up for herself
no dent made



March 26, 2009

the difficult child
wants just to visit his grave
only comfort left



March 27, 2009

FEAR REALIZED

did he lock his door
when he left me sleeping in
for a little bit
I fear it’s not he returning
when I hear a door shut

a strange man enters
the room where I lie frozen
fear realized
he gives no explanation
and attempts to mash me

my angry assertion
“I’m taken!”
he lets go

a couple women
arrive for a gathering
my absent lover
arranged many days ago
then proceeded to forget

[three dream tanka & a dreamku on one dream]



March 28, 2009

she’s proud to be sought
by the cops for the theft
my sexy new friend



March 29, 2009

THE SAME ANSWER

the odd little man
dressed like a wooden soldier
asks the oracle
the same question one more time
and gets the same answer

another presence
and I sway “no” slowly
back and forth
and the strange little man
holds me to stop my motion

“That’s nauseating”
he says “but I hear the ‘no’”
does he know he’s funny


[two dream tanka & a dreamku on one dream]



March 30, 2009

the tiny plane he’s
cobbled together will fly
I hang it up



March 31, 2009

he dives deep into
the pool trying to drown himself
reflex takes over
his aching lungs force him up
but he tangles in a rope trap

set to prevent
just such an escape the rope
squeezes like a snake
his head barely breaking
the churning water’s surface

can or can’t he breathe
I can’t quite see through the night
shrouding the pool


[two dream tanka & a dreamku on one dream]


* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,





**** [aka: 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”)****My other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL and ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT, and Yahoo DREAMJIN: Group for Dreamku – Haiku-Like Dream Poems ****

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Tuesday, March 03, 2009

ALL DAILY DREAMKU POSTED IN FEBRUARY 2009


Another difficult month, though with some lovely moments. At least in part, this post of February 7th illustrates this increasing focus on my part on growing:

my fingers grow webs
of flesh between them again
then disappear
a fellow male student says
he's developed webs sometimes

trying to prove
to her that I do grow webs
I hold my hands spread
and wait for them to appear
one small web shows up at last

better maybe
to pursue my education
what will grow, will grow

My favorite post of the month is this one of February 2nd:

a starry winter sky
over the snow hushed forest
I crane my neck up
so I’ll not miss watching
the broken moon’s spinning halves

a lone wolf still clings
to one of the small half moons
as its wobble grows
I understand the science
but it’s the wonder I love

yet I still hope
the teacher understands
that I clearly know
how covalent bonding
and breaking creates it all

[three dream tanka on one dream]

Some interesting background: I decorated a friend's Christmas tree (see photo above) this year and largely with decorations I’d made myself:

a lush wide green lawn
fringed by ancient oaks and elms
the young girl planting
a decorated Christmas pine
under a shadowy palm

a gentle woman
telling her not to over-water
roots relax in earth

And that last line is what I’m wishing for in my life as a whole.

Happy Almost Spring! Especially to all of you still digging out from under in snowy climes.


ALL DAILY DREAMKU POSTED IN FEBRUARY 2009


February 1, 2009

joy at the bottom
she’s done my laundry
even my old purple robe



February 2, 2009

a starry winter sky
over the snow hushed forest
I crane my neck up
so I’ll not miss watching
the broken moon’s spinning halves

a lone wolf still clings
to one of the small half moons
as its wobble grows
I understand the science
but it’s the wonder I love

yet I still hope
the teacher understands
that I clearly know
how covalent bonding
and breaking creates it all

[three dream tanka on one dream]



February 3, 2009

she calls to me from
the bottom of the stairwell
tossing cartridges
onto the carpeted steps
she tells me “You can have two”

but can I use these
out-dated correcting strips
doubt turns to gratitude

[dream tanka & dreamku on one dream]



February 4, 2009

she'll run away
on a moment's notice
organized supply shelves

he assumes they'll be
intimate from their first date
booty call schedule

[dreamku on two separate dreams from the same night]



February 5, 2009

rescued from thieves
ancient golden parchment scrolls
wisdom crosses water



February 6, 2009

I put them to sleep
laid out atop each other
then start my escape
but the man on top wakes up
and smiles groggily at me

he’s letting me go
weighting the other man down
so I can flee
I kiss him lightly saying
you’re better than my own dad

[two dream tanka on one dream]



February 7, 2009

my fingers grow webs
of flesh between them again
then disappear
a fellow male student says
he's developed webs sometimes

trying to prove
to her that I do grow webs
I hold my hands spread
and wait for them to appear
one small web shows up at last

better maybe
to pursue my education
what will grow, will grow

[two dream tanka & one dreamku on one dream]



February 8, 2009

found on the sidewalk
unlabeled prescription bottle
lined with loose teeth



February 9, 2009

ALL IN A NIGHT’S WORK
(dream tanka series)


(1) THE PROLOGUE (Dream One)

the three women won’t
let me finish my story
frustration again
even expressing this need
brings me no completion


(2) THE STORY (Dream Two)

her move goes swiftly
from our shared apartment
too fast for me
I try to keep our agreements
and to be prompt as need be

things change rapidly
the large living room echos
emptiness and dust
I miss the old long bookcase
and am surprised by tears

a military man
moves into a corner
making an office
he assumes he’s welcome
and I accept his presence

curiosity piqued
I point to his game CDs
a stacked collection
he clearly expects me
to know just how to play them

frustration rises
what I don’t know, I don’t know
no matter his want
I try to play anyway
the computer screen unclear

the display flips back
to a woman’s poetry
white on black background
I can’t find the right icon
to get back to game playing




February 10, 2009

first time ever
my long-time friend pleads with me
to help her



February 11, 2009

two wizened old goats
wander around the junkyard
last of old “Blue Eyes”*

*nickname for Frank Sinatra; another dream character (a vague female nurse), whom I did not trust, told me these two goats were he.




February 12, 2009


I’m a young strong man
flying sans ship into space
floating through the stars
I don’t try using the maps
I can see in my mind

it’s much like swimming
out here in the vast cool dark
my butt lightly bumps one star
and I switch my focus
intending toward a new goal

[a pair of dream tankas on one dream; on waking I had a strong association to what I've read about The Star card: every person is a star. :-D I think I read that in reference to this Star card directly above in The Thoth Tarot.]


February 13, 2009

a lush wide green lawn
fringed by ancient oaks and elms
the young girl planting
a decorated Christmas pine
under a shadowy palm

a gentle woman
telling her not to over-water
roots relax in earth

[dream tanka and dreamku on one dream]




February 14, 2009

A DAY AT THE BEACH
(dreamku series on one dream)

she takes a long walk
abandoning all her stuff
sunny day at the beach

a sudden panic
why did she leave her wallet
hasty turn around

the shoreline rises
steeply from the surf’s frothy edge
crumbling hand-holds up

she’s been through this
too many times before
ease surprises

the baby she passed
on the way down is still here
her wallet isn’t

she craves perspective
and tries to take to the air
stuck on the ground

a small dark man
stands watch as she tries again
overview at last

“Thank you Deities”
she calls from the churning height --
wish fulfilled



February 15, 2009

we are making love
then come all the complaints that
I use jam glasses
for frequent drinking of water
and leave them all around

I indicate I’ll
not do this ever again
as I try to fly
out across the verdant yard
to turn down the thermostat

[two dream tanka on one dream]



February 16, 2009

he walks ahead as
always and climbs the plank stairs
I can’t catch up



February 17, 2009

the surrogate mom
reneges on the golden couple
he can’t handle it
and deserts his sad partner
who adopts on her own

[dream tanka]



February 18, 2009

of course I have
a sex life, the baby says
I'm twenty-two......months

[Other than a big chuckle at this baby’s joke, this dream sent me scrambling to see what was going on in my life 22 months ago. :-D]



February 19, 2009

tan and trim
her body resculpted
the narrow stairway climb



February 20, 2009

my sad friend and I
sing a duet changing
the last line a little
to end with the word “peace”
and does “magic” come before?

[dream tanka]



February 21, 2009

his new lover lives
on west twenty-second street
artsy neighborhood
she’s concerned about his ex
his blithe assumption: just fine

[dream tanka; That number 22 again! I really must do some more investigating of that. I've already determined what was going on in my life 22 months ago -- as a previous dream indicated might be where to look -- and had some intriguing insights. This dream has also already turned out to be mildly clairvoyant, as an occasional dream of mine is. And of course, there are 22 Major Arcana cards in The Tarot. :-D]



February 22, 2009

white puppies jostle
and line up neatly at last
their surprise salutes



February 23, 2009

hostile striped cat
I rise above its clawing reach
further, further ...



February 24, 2009

the pregnant giraffe
kicks out feebly as she flees
her stride trumps her kick



February 25, 2009

the soles of both pair
too smooth to grip the iced street
my only shoes



February 26, 2009

a toddler girl hovers
as I work on the poster
a large block of text
needs a colorful graphic
I play with fuchsia petals


[dream tanka]



February 27, 2009

over the ocean
elevated airport runways
waterfalls cleanse



February 28, 2009

what seemed wrong with her
turns out not to be the case
on the concrete bench
she makes room for the old man
who spreads out squashing her chest


* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,





**** [aka: 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”)****My other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL and ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT, and Yahoo DREAMJIN: Group for Dreamku – Haiku-Like Dream Poems ****

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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

ALL DAILY DREAMKU POSTED IN DECEMBER 2008

Shawms, also known as Zurnas (see December 23rd below for details and dreamku)


Sigh. This was a very difficult month. Too many activity and friendship commitments. I can especially see relationship difficulty in many of the below ‘ku and tanka. Some of the earlier dreams/kus came days and even weeks before I was conscious of certain issues they had been trying to bring my attention to. This one below, though, was clear to me as I recalled the dream. I wrote the dreamku only a couple of hours before one friendship finally clearly broke apart:

swimming along
the shallow side of the pool
hitting bottom

“Shallow” puzzled me a little bit, as our friendship has been nothing if not deep. Then it occurred to me it was saying there wasn’t far to go before it all bottomed out, in fact I was already touching it. This bottom, though, does now contain the hope that we may yet remain friends. However right now I’m in a “wait and see” space, as I go through a lot of sadness for us both.




ALL DAILY DREAMKU POSTED IN DECEMBER 2008


December 1, 2008

HUMBLED BUMBLER

Jamie Lee Curtis
leads our exercise class
I can't keep up

she hands each of us
a purple jacket to put on
extra long sleeves

I'm anxious to prove
that she's wrong
I bumble the exercises

they crowd me against the wall ... deflation


[dreamku series on one dream; that last line is a one-liner or "monoku," a form even haiku are now being written in sometimes]



December 2, 2008

I cheat with him once
does that make us a couple
he seems to think so



December 3, 2008

a young black woman
stands with the light behind her
in a gauzy gown
I exclaim that her long legs
and curves are so beautiful

[dream tanka]



December 4, 2008

a young woman and I
seduce a perturbed older man
pushing fun icons
I reach for: Reincarnation
of the Tiger*

[dream tanka]

*My immediate association to this was to that famous story "The Lady or the Tiger." LOL!



December 5, 2008

into the open air
to clear our cell connection
the slim waning moon



December 6, 2008

sky flying, no plane
the wind pushes me past home
on the oceanfront
my arms and legs tiring I
struggle to get back on path

[dream tanka]



December 7, 2008

he suddenly dumps
huge piles of books on the floor
of the library
held hostage by his displays
I feel concern for him, too

[dream tanka]



December 8, 2008

tight places
trying to tease strings out of
pockets and tangles



December 9, 2008


the lampshade they painted
with blue and purple glitter
years old birthday gift




December 10, 2008

laid across his lap
“You could play drums
on this sweet tight butt”



December 11, 2008

the house painters
threw out my copious files
the old cartons remain
my shock turns into great ire
how dare they do this to me

she’s not affected
by my mounting rage at their
cavalier treatment
she says that the files were moved
as they needed the space

but how will I get
the files back in their right boxes
they still had no right

[two dream tanka & one dreamku on one dream]



December 12, 2008

the intriguing artist
and I don’t want to talk
a laughing baby



December 13, 2008


I watch the woman shop
and assume each thrift store buy
is for herself
but she hands them all to me
as early Christmas gifts

sizes don’t matter
we agree the orange-scented
cleaner is quite good


[dream tanka & dreamku on one dream]



December 14, 2008

I enter the bath
all the many lights are on
I turn each one off
the one above the tub’s hard
to get at but I do

what must her husband
have thought when she asked for it
that light by the tub

[dream tanka & dreamku on one dream]



December 15, 2008

invitation to
the new painting-singing class
unprepared teacher



December 16, 2008

dark earth tumbles from
the small hole in the felled tree
what’s emerging

[This dreamku is a good example of how writing dreamku can often lead to some important understanding of the dream. In this case, I initially used the word "log" instead of "felled tree" but not only was the syllable count unsatisfying, I knew it needed more description. When the words "felled tree" occurred I suddenly realized my identification with that tree and the emotional turmoil I've been going through recently.



December 17, 2008

he asks for someone
to be his ballet student
a small fat woman
innocently volunteers
his obvious chagrin

[dream tanka]



December 18, 2008

reviewing reveals
she stole leather slacks from
the foundational dig
a male voice proclaims that
her arrogance tripped her up

[dream tanka]



December 19, 2008

no time off
computer glitches repeat
in my dreams*

*I'm not at home so don't have my dream resources from which to write a new dreamku or tanka, and this is my first time online all day (7:00 pm). Which is by way of explaining why I'm posting a dreamku from April 2006. It's eerily timely now, as I've been noting how much more clearly I'm seeing my daily issues reflected in my dreams. I'm having an increasing problem with my second-hand flat screen monitor, so the subject of this dreamku is even rather applicable.



December 20, 2008

he says from behind
he wishes he’d get it up
yet what do I feel
against my butt answering
my own arousal

a ghost male’s member
rises firmly between us
menage-a-trois*

[dream tanka & dreamku on one dream]

*Sex dreams are frequently not about sex, or rather not only about sexuality. In this case, this dream is very much about how my own "standing up" for myself is becoming an extremely important issue,



December 21, 2008

voices on the stairs
outside my apartment door
stuffing my wet clothes
in the bathroom wastebasket
to hide them away

I open the door
before my good friend knocks
her “oh” of surprise

[dream tanka & dreamku on one dream]



December 23, 2008

the finger holes on
the dark shawm* are way too big
and too far apart
my small fingers cannot reach
much less cover them to play

on the shawm’s underside
smaller close holes in a row
now I make music

[dream tanka & dreamku on one dream]

*The zurna is a middle-eastern wind instrument. Also called a shawm, it was played by medieval musicians. I believe it was a shawm I played around with many years ago, and it makes a very sharp loud sound (at least in my newbie hands :-D). In the dream, when I finally got some sound out of it I had to work a bit more to get a middle-eastern sort of belly-dance music sound. At the top of this post is a picture of some zurnas; the darker ones look very much like the one in the dream written about above, except that it was brass.



December 24, 2008

she tells me I should
take all of my clothes off
a loft gathering

his perturbed hello
a man who'd seen me naked
before I backed out

[two dreamku on one dream]



December 25, 2008

the anxious actress
prepares to take a leap
for the movie shot
the dark ground and narrow stream
constructed from brown carpet

clearly she can make
the short leap across the stream
her hesitation
the wall rising straight up
from the stream’s opposite bank

[two dream tanka on one dream]



December 26, 2008

CLOSETED*

the small dark man
makes intense love to me
open door

an old friend
wrongly believes he's dying
I just crave sex

very muddy shoes
my lover says they'll find
and hose me off

I want to be found
but don't want them to know it
large empty closet

*[a dreamku series on one dream from 3/28/08; I don't want to go into all the details, but this dream is proving to have had some clairvoyant elements to it. It also illustrates the problem with clairvoyant dreams -- at least for me. I'm rarely able to identify precognition at the time of the dream. It's only apparent when something from a dream clearly occurs. I suppose this is not truly a problem -- again, for me at least -- as I have nothing invested in "knowing the future." I just find it intriguing that we humans can sometimes do this. Even in my Tarot work I rarely look for future information, but focus on obtaining advice and guidance for my "here and now" issues. Which is precisely what I do with my dream work. Any looking to the future is more like that which we all do when trying to understand the possible consequences to decisions we are pondering.]



December 27, 2008

old workplaces
empty even of sorrow
the past laid to rest*

*[This dreamku was posted previously, on July 16, 2006. I've been yearning for this sort of emptiness recently. Sigh. I also keep recalling an expression I saw on a poster in a psychotherapist's office many, many years ago: The only way out, is through.]



December 28, 2008

what was she
that toddler – a fairy child?
dream recorded too late



December 29, 2008

the souls of dead mice
till the dark earth
what will grow here?*

*[Although written two years ago and posted on May 3, 2006 here, this one has a resonance now for me: the time of year and the changes in my life ... plus those souls of dead mice -- as opposed to living ones -- has always intrigued me. I'm not as spooked by mice as many of my women friends, but I would not say I particularly like them and certainly don't want them in my home space. The mouse souls in this dream, though, are in their more natural habitat and doing something that can support new growth. So the dream/ku has always felt rather positive to me. Much like one of the basic meanings for The Death card in the Tarot: clearing away the old so that the new can grow.]



December 30, 2008

swimming along
the shallow side of the pool
hitting bottom



December 31, 2008

she somehow affords
to visit me cross country
this much missed best friend
someone claims it’s not for me
but to attend a health fair

her acquaintance’s
assumption that she knows all
a swipe I duck under

[dream tanka & dreamku on one dream]

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,





**** [aka: 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”)****My other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL and ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT, and Yahoo DREAMJIN: Group for Dreamku – Haiku-Like Dream Poems ****

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Saturday, November 29, 2008

ALL DAILY DREAMKU POSTED IN NOVEMBER 2008



It’s been one of those rather difficult months. I had several emotional meltdowns and have been somatizing a lot. I’ve had more physical malaise in the last two and half months than in the previous two and a half years. Today I’m coping with a ripening head cold. All of which indicates how stressed out I’ve let myself become. As I read through this month’s dreamku I was struck that the posts for November 23 and November 20 may have some wisdom to offer me. They are from two dreams (possibly one, I’m not sure) from one night. Although I initially posted them out of date order, they were definitely dreamed in the order immediately below:

(posted November 23, 2008)

he drives us off a cliff
into a ripe cornfield that’s
a full story tall
we fall slowly and land
safely amidst the green stalks

he wants to drive straight
ahead immediately
sure that he knows best
I want to check out options
to the right? to the left?


(posted November 20, 2008)

I stand in a field
of fully ripe golden grain
soft earth vibrations
starting around me grain stalks
bend gracefully to the ground

a crop circle grows
spiraling out through the field
awe in the morning

That November 20th posting was such a wonderful dream experience. I was at the center of glorious mystery. On reading the November 23rd tanka pair in which there’s a fall and then disagreement on how to proceed, I extract this advice from the subsequent November 20th dream’s images: stay centered in the mystery of life as it circles around you. I’m also inclined to interpret the first two tanka as representing left brain -- thinking, linear, either/or responses to life, and the November 20th post to right brain -- intuiting, spiraling, not either/or but both and more experience. I’ve wandered way too often from my more natural tendency to right brain experience over the past couple of months and am endlessly grateful for the November 20th dream post’s awesome reminder to come home far more frequently. Nay, to recognize that I am always at home.



ALL DAILY DREAMKU POSTED IN NOVEMBER 2008

November 1, 2008

the glowing globe falls
in the water off dockside
terrifying everyone
this is a world invasion
we prepare to sail off

I start screwing
one of the four corner poles
into a boat’s deck
but find that it’s way too tall
hitting the dock over-hang

back on solid ground
I say, yes, my family
are mobsters all
but they are still my family
and my ties to them alive

gossip starts to spread
about my relatives:
willing collaborators

[three dream tanka & one dreamku, on one dream]



November 2, 2008

the closing comment
“all the guards are gone”
should I be worried?



November 3, 2008

the bus/elevator
makes a stop but it’s not
the last or even right
one for us all, it’s just
another along the way

[dream tanka]



November 4, 2008

all stores I was wont
to buy binge food in are closed
huge sighs of relief



November 5, 2008

I click on the icon
and a small vague ghost rises
she tells me to guess
what she has to offer me
her black and white stripes wavering

I have no trouble
stating what this young genie
has bottled for me
when she quietly questions:
but what do I need of you

[two dream tanka on one dream]



November 6, 2008

I do not welcome
his sexual advances
in the empty lobby
later he proudly gossips
that he’d laid hands on me

[dream tanka]



November 7, 2008

she arrogantly says
(as if none of us noticed)
that the office is closed
as always I ignore her:
this time bomb in denial

[dream tanka]



November 8, 2008

[see photo at top of post]

surprise greeting
a grinning tiger's whiskers
tickle my face

[The Siberian Tiger (and by extension all tigers) is one of my power animals; Horse is the other. So when a tiger or horse shows up in a dream it has special significance to me. In this case, Tiger was waking me unusually gently to the need to be really focused in the immediate moment. There’s also something in this dream image about a need to be more assertive; I felt that the tiger’s expression softened a more usual association of aggression into assertion.]



November 9, 2008

I'm disappointed
when he makes a quick attempt
to kiss her not me
as the subway train doors close
he blows her another kiss

[dream tanka]



November 10, 2008

he’s younger than I
and we’d not met up in years
convenient marriage
I decide it might work out
as he was married before

[dream tanka]



November 11, 2008

his worry showing
my lover watches as I
enjoy the rock group
the sad refrain they sing:
I’ll always land on darker ground

[dream tanka]



November 12, 2008

my uncle reams out
my clearly downcast father
as I defend him
my uncle turns on me
with his vituperation

I have problems but
that doesn’t mean I’m worthless:
my forceful response

[dream tanka & dreamku on one dream]



November 13, 2008

in the days she stands
on the long police line-up
her pregnancy swells
she’s there to contain the thugs
not to be booked for a crime

[dream tanka]



November 14, 2008

the star presses him
against the wall with her full-
term pregnant belly
his fear and trembling fades as
she tells him he’s the father

[dream tanka]



November 15, 2008

young Clark Kent drives me
to a well-known necking spot
asking if it’s OK
I assent and feel only
brief concern for my safety

on the way to neck
we clean a gunky glass disk
joy at getting clear

[dream tanka & dreamku on one dream]



November 16, 2008

the spacious ranch home
is owned by a mobster
a funeral’s faked
to draw a hit man’s focus
off the mobster family

[dream tanka]



November 17, 2008

my old haunted home
I tell guests to just intend
and a ghost will come



November 18, 2008

the beauty pageant begins
both men and women entrants
parade one by one
each waiting in the spotlight for
their gorgeous female escort

the last three entrants
wait side-by-side for escorts
an announcer says
each of the 50 contestants
stands for a different state

[two dream tanka on one dream]



November 19, 2008

I don’t see the cliff
as I park my motorcycle
scramble from the edge



November 20, 2008

I stand in a field
of fully ripe golden grain
soft earth vibrations
starting around me grain stalks
bend gracefully to the ground

a crop circle grows
spiraling out through the field
awe in the morning

[dream tanka and dreamku on one dream]



November 21, 2008

AN ANCIENT GOD RISING**

she won't let me go
til I give what I owe her
paid receipt ignored

captive overnight
I can't find any toothpaste
women observe

I cling to outrage
at being held hostage
where's my purse

how's your daughter
I ask my captor
she doesn't let go

a nice white-haired man
dozens of plane flight brochures
but none for my home

my admiration
his encyclopedia
of esoteric wisdom

altered state
The Fool* pushes a pharoah
into a grave

downed after struggle
the pharoah
in viscous liquid

a God of Babylon
rises from grey-aqua muck
huge genitals pend

[*The Fool, a combination of the one in the Tarot and the sort of fool Kings had in their courts.]
[**Dreamku series on one dream from September 2007 -- when I had this dream it precipitated research into Gods of Babylon; given I'm finding this dream intriguing again I should probably read up once more on the God this dream seemed to refer to (I think I recall somehow determining it was Ea). :-D]



November 23, 2008

he drives us off a cliff
into a ripe cornfield that’s
a full story tall
we fall slowly and land
safely amidst the green stalks

he wants to drive straight
ahead immediately
sure that he knows best
I want to check out options
to the right? to the left?

[two dream tanka on one dream]



November 24, 2008

I take raw chopped beef
from the stove top frying pan
cook, and savor it
an older man tells a younger
to roll the rest paper thin

they question if I
have taken any beef or not
why don’t they see?

[one dream tanka & a dreamku on one dream]



November 25, 2008

there’s a ghost in the
room behind, right now, a man
a minute man



November 26, 2008

we both dream of gays
mine fill a large store window
giving sexy massages



November 27, 2008

his stare concerns me
as I climb down from the tree
determination prevails
I retrieve my crumpled words
by the muddy lotus pond

[dream tanka]



November 28, 2008

repeat frustration
images I can’t connect
though I know they do



November 29, 2008

we quietly whisk
the toddler girl away
sex in public



November 30, 2008

at the co-worker
cookout on the large green lawn
I apologize
that my wide butt’s in his way
he says he rather likes it

[dream tanka]

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,





**** [aka: 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”)****My other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL and ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT, and Yahoo DREAMJIN: Group for Dreamku – Haiku-Like Dream Poems ****

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Friday, October 31, 2008

ALL DAILY DREAMKU POSTED IN OCTOBER 2008



I love the above graphic. I fancy this is what I’m really like, at heart, in my room working on these dreamku and posts. Especially this time of year. :-) There’s even a series with a black cat in it below. And these samples from the month are rather Halloween-ish, too:


his grin intrudes
on the disturbing dream
demon-man with horns

* * * *

OF SNAKES AND DINOSAURS

I try to prevent
any snakes from escaping
blocking every little hole
tiny snakes keep slipping out
and I keep putting them back

little T-Rex’s*
move on to this dark wood floor
as snake predators
they quell any sneak escapes
from the end where they gather

if all flesh burned off
leaving only T-Rex bones
they’d be identical
living skeletons pacing
this silent but busy night

* * * *

But more seriously, I wish all of you a Blessed Samhain and Happy New Year (in the ancient celtic tradition, All Hallow’s Eve is New Year’s).



ALL DAILY DREAMKU POSTED IN OCTOBER 2008

October 1, 2008

NO LEG TO STAND ON

The small van for the handicapped arrives. A man with no legs below his knees is sitting in the front passenger seat. An indolent Brad Pitt sprawls behind the driver’s side.

I squeeze in the back
awkward and uncertain
my forced good cheer


Brad Pitt promptly falls asleep. It’s a quick silent ride to the airport. When the van pulls to a stop he wakes, his brow angrily furrowed.

still anxious to please
I say “good morning bluebird”
his grouchy exit


The man with no legs below his knees waits for his wheelchair, his shoulder length hair moving in the light breeze.

without assistance
he slides surely from the van
deeply quiet strength

[a dream haibun]




October 2, 2008

lonely relief
I storm out of the diner
deserting my friends



October 3, 2008

“Thank you for coming,”
she herds me out of her house
where are my shoes?
a mouse-bug skitters quickly
through the deep shadows




October 4, 2008

I get in the lift
and pull on a long flared skirt
a woman crawls under
and looks at my small brown boots
"You'll wear these, also?"



October 5, 2008

she can’t get her car
to start going straight forward
empty nighttime street
he makes a small adjustment
and leaves her alone again

the motor grinds slowly
as she handles the gear shift
is it stuck in reverse

[dream tanka & dreamku on one dream]



October 6, 2008

the pizza parlor
needs financial support
I can’t buy a slice



October 7, 2008

the mother’s dying
will free me of baby care
I rush to throw out
a long tray of diapers
but a new infant is born

my work goes on
I keep all the diapers
while craving freedom

[dream tanka and dreamku on one dream]



October 8, 2008

I rub my dear friend’s
ready-to-pop pregnant belly
around and around
I reassure the baby
it will soon understand speech

[dream tanka]



October 9, 2008

he struggles to pilot
our vehicle up the tight
spiraling staircase
I realize how to help
and start pulling on the walls

[dream tanka]



October 10, 2008

we store unused things
in an empty cubicle
next to a packed one
much stuff stored in the full one
looks all too familiar

a male friend points to
a crate that might hold the corpse
we call the police

[dream tanka & dreamku on one dream]



October 11, 2008

I tell her and her child
I’ll meet them a bit later
as I stay behind
I search for one of the shoes
I want to wear to go out

I find many shoes
I’d forgotten all piled up
none seem fitting

[dream tanka & dreamku on one dream]



October 12, 2008

there’s a hip new club
in town for which I’m asked
to produce a show
are my friends and I chi-chi
enough for their clientele

[dream tanka]



October 13, 2008

I’m starting an affair
that’s somewhat scandalous
a nine year old boy’s
lover is a grown woman
my heart aches but I don’t judge

[dream tanka]



October 14, 2008

men and women dive
into the large deep lake
I, in my easy chair
that to my great surprise floats
into a rushing river

now out of the chair
I fight to swim the river
along with all the others
and accept help from a man

we all manage to
meet in the rocking shallows
white water curls

[two dream tanka & one dreamku on one dream]



October 15, 2008

the woman accused
of child abuse is surprised
I haven’t judged her
its those entrenched in power,
I say, who I find abusive

not knowing her I
choose to stay open minded
fame’s no proof of guilt

[dream tanka & dreamku on one dream]



October 16, 2008

the director films
upper and lower class folk
my unease with both



October 17, 2008

his grin intrudes
on the disturbing dream
demon-man with horns



October 18, 2008

office of cubicles
I rummage through desks naked
no toilet paper



October 19, 2008

small movements in my
unlocked suitcase prove to be
my groggy black cat
when I wasn’t looking she’d
snuck in and been packed away

I want the rich man’s
romantic attention, too,
though I have the chef’s
who clears a space to revive
my still rather weak black cat

flat out on her back
she begins to breathe strongly
her name’s still Chaos

[two dream tanka & one dreamku on one dream; I actually had a mostly black cat named Chaos many years ago. :-D]



October 20, 2008

her son’s too grown now
to carry, nearly her height
I’ve missed them both



October 21, 2008

from outside the tub
he softly touches my bare
soapy breasts and thighs
do you really intend to
pursue sex with me, I ask

[dream tanka]



October 22, 2008

on the empty walk
to her small attached white house
I face the front door
self-conscious sobs escape
from between my cupped hands

[dream tanka]



October 23, 2008

her apartment’s not
where I recall it being –
lost far uptown



October 24, 2008

he returns all the
pennies she gifted him with
what nerve!



October 25, 2008

everyone heads home
as I hike toward the beach
children in wheelchairs



October 26, 2008

OF SNAKES AND DINOSAURS

I try to prevent
any snakes from escaping
blocking every little hole
tiny snakes keep slipping out
and I keep putting them back

little T-Rex’s*
move on to this dark wood floor
as snake predators
they quell any sneak escapes
from the end where they gather

if all flesh burned off
leaving only T-Rex bones
they’d be identical
living skeletons pacing
this silent but busy night

*Tyrannosaurus Rex, that I saw and thought of as T-Rex in the dream

[three dream tanka on one dream]



October 27, 2008

the waitress shows me
what we need to sort and wash
kitchen night shift

she runs out the door
saying over her shoulder
to meet up with her
at parking lot seventeen*
as she moves out of my sight

I don’t know that lot
and rush to get her in view
taking graceful leaps
I’m surprised I can do so,
as a man smiles approval

the path’s frozen now
though I keep a fair purchase
I decide to fly
and raise my arms, pumping them,
lifting slowly through the night

*association in the dream and on waking to the The Star card in the Tarot who’s numbered 17

[a dreamku and three dream tanka on one dream]



October 28, 2008

will I ever have
his true affection?
this brother/lover



October 29, 2008

the cleaners lose
her fancy, ill-fitting vests
poor compensation



October 30, 2008

THE SENTIENT TREES
(dreamed 3/16/06)

The sentient trees long violet and pale green branches toss. I tell my friend this is my favorite time of day as the branches flicker like strippers' boas in the sky, turning into lightning fast whippers:

dominating
the darkling sky
armed trees

[a dream haibun: Technically I'd coin the name for it of dream scifaibun, as the dream has a science fiction aspect. I have lots of new dreams on which I want to write some dreamku and tanka, but just have not had time. That's why I'm posting this old piece. What I find amazing is I can still see that sky and those trees in full color in my mind.]




October 31, 2008

tumbling from the sky
with a charred underside
the moon or UFO?


* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,





**** [aka: 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”)****My other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL and ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT, and Yahoo DREAMJIN: Group for Dreamku – Haiku-Like Dream Poems ****

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Thursday, October 02, 2008

ALL DAILY DREAMKU POSTED IN SEPTEMBER 2008

[This image goes with the verse for September 11 below]


The first thing I noticed on reading through the dreamku below was the colors, especially green. I don’t often dream in color so this is note worthy. My guess? Mostly to do with joy, passion and growth.

The below pair of dream tanka from one dream of September 3rd had me belly laughing as I woke up:

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

a cat crawls quickly
into my white underpants
holding on tightly
I waddle calling to friends
for help with extricating it

my friends follow me
to sliding doors where I tell
the men to stay put
inside a woman begins
to scoop the cat out

Hope you enjoy this month’s dreamku. Many of the tanka, I must confess, are a few weeks old as I’ve not been recalling my dreams as readily as usual.

ALL DAILY DREAMKU POSTED IN SEPTEMBER 2008

September 1, 2008

incredibly long
golden green titles waver
I stumble over
blurred numbers and gaelic words
she appears to know them all

[dream tanka]



September 2, 2008

through my grandma’s house
a lush parade of
Amer-Indian tribes



September 3, 2008

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

a cat crawls quickly
into my white underpants
holding on tightly
I waddle calling to friends
for help with extricating it

my friends follow me
to sliding doors where I tell
the men to stay put
inside a woman begins
to scoop the cat out

[two dream tanka on one dream]



September 4, 2008

I stash a dust filled
green towel in the freezer
he opens its door
brushing past his warm shoulder
I snatch the towel away

[dream tanka]



September 5, 2008

I seek my new beau
two strange women disapprove
of my green jacket



September 6, 2008

the photo appears
a dozen times on the page
each one needs a verse,
written first: Give the Lender
the Power to Receive

[dream tanka]



September 7, 2008

I balance and roll
on the red exercise ball
visitors watch amused
or are they impressed I’m such
a flexible old lady

[dream tanka]



September 8, 2008

crazed and crumbling
the small cactus in
its little rock nook



September 9, 2008

I visit my friend
in our former apartment
she doesn’t miss me
the only difference now
no piles of dishes to do

[dream tanka]



September 10, 2008

a tall man in drag,
another young man, and I
share a dressing room
the tall man doesn’t like me
and hits me with the show’s script

[dream tanka]



September 11, 2008

the large dark workhorse
puts his muzzle on my mouth
looking into my eyes
I’m not certain what this means
but figure he must like me

more intense nuzzling
I mount and take delight in
his strong smooth gallop

[dream tanka & dreamku on one dream]
This was posted with the image at the top of this post of a Clydesdale stallion, much like the one in my dream; though mine had no white and wasn't all "gussied up." :-)



September 12, 2008

a wall of paintings
draws me back to muse on two
shining Goddesses:
Demeter the Earth Mother,
Harodata* the Sacred Whore

[dream tanka]

*my dream world tossed up this name (it was accented on the second syllable in my dreaming mind); I googled it and found one occurrence in an untranslated sanskrit text. Hm!



September 13, 2008

the retro drive-in
screens old Frank Sinatra flicks
kids have never seen
his early career, that fills
a black and white mandala

[dream tanka]



September 14, 2008

she can’t sweep away
the dark egg shaped rocks
crumbling back porch



September 15, 2008

he bloodies himself
crashing deliberately
into wall after wall
yelling from his loneliness
I can't do this anymore

[dream tanka]



September 16, 2008

I hear the panic
as she calls out in her sleep
curtained bed alcove



September 17, 2008

a small black cat
runs around the large theatre
surprised laughter spreads



September 18, 2008

she catches her toddler
as he runs into the street
she lets me hold him



September 19, 2008

walking home at night
I hurry the last few steps
I am shocked to note
home's not there and I can't recall
the past twenty minutes.

[dream tanka]



September 20, 2008

through a phase shift
I see myself leave and return
lookin’ good!*

*This is an especially interesting dream given I've lost a lot of weight and am still losing. Our mental images tend to lag months behind the reality. This dream seems to, at least in part, show a re-adjustment of my mental image of myself. :-D


September 21, 2008

this bridge across new
waters needs to be prepared
to hold its pathway
taking turns we gently roll
strong adhesive along it

[dream tanka]



September 22, 2008

I skim all his words
they compare quite well with mine
song lyric sheets



September 23, 2008

I arrive to sit
for his child while he's dating
but he's hired a man
then he gives me green candy
which I politely turn down

sweets are bad for me
I explain virtuously --
the piece in my mouth

[dream tanka and dreamku on one dream]



September 24, 2008

they move into their
new home at a road’s long end
surrounded by woods
the seller had not disclosed
its distance from the familiar

[dream tanka]



September 25, 2008

living room fun time
he asks if we’ve found his piece
of red silk yet



September 26, 2008

first the infant falls
freezing in place at pool side
then we each tumble
no harm, no foul, this first scene
of a shining new circuit

[dream tanka]




September 27, 2008

she walks on water
then suddenly plummets down
at last she rises
“He doesn’t build out this way
anymore,” my friend giggles

[dream tanka]



September 28, 2008

she proclaims my left
dimple is larger than my right
I smile wider



September 29, 2008

dream recall lost
beneath your long body’s heat
heart’s ease



September 30, 2008

the angry woman
and the gentle lady dance
tender partnership


* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,





**** [aka: 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”)****My other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL and ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT, and Yahoo DREAMJIN: Group for Dreamku – Haiku-Like Dream Poems ****

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Monday, September 01, 2008

ALL DREAMKU POSTED IN AUGUST 2008



my worn old guitar
sits on the coffee table
caressing its curves
he says it may be battered
but it's still quite musical


Taiga Image: cropped and altered, from Picasso's "Group of Female Nudes"
Dream Tanka: P. Kelly
I hope to use images for haiku and tanka more this way, i.e. to unmask the metaphor of the dream.


What a busy month! I’ve got quite a life brewing here.  This capping dreamku to a dream tanka pair of August 29th says it all:

all I left or lost
will slowly be replaced here
recycling magic



ALL DAILY DREAMKU POSTED IN AUGUST 2008


August 1, 2008

he doesn't let me
collide with the stumbling drunks
on a rain slick street
I continue with my latest
difficult delivery

[dream tanka]



August 2, 2008

we board the subway
and all of the lights go off
I grip her walker
and ask if it’s OK to
hold on to keep my balance

[dream tanka]



August 3, 2008

two women and I
follow another woman
whose wise words need heart
I tell the women near me
we’re the counterbalances

[dream tanka]



August 5, 2008
DREAM OF DREAMING A NIGHTMARE*

In the dream, I let myself fall asleep even knowing I may be vulnerable to whatever is after me.

up my back
a fog of seeping darkness
hot breath
I toss my shoulders in this dream within a dream and shake it off, but the invasive demon-shaped dark returns instantly. I hear my stepmother typing in the other room.

soundless cries
rip from my throat
Ma! Mom! Mother!
In this dream within a dream, I know she’ll come if only I can make enough noise. No sound above a rough croak results from my strenuous efforts.

a loud sharp yell
bursts from me at last
I dream I wake

* * * * * * * *


A dream haibun from May 2008
This is a dreamku from May 2008, but one I wrote about a friend's dream about me. :-) The "Seer" is me and the "I" is her.

August 6, 2008

he’s moved the paintings
on my walls farther apart
morning after



August 7, 2008

tight black pant suit
he comments slyly on my weight
but continues flirting



August 8, 2008

fireside easy chair
the purple Irish Setter
won’t stop licking me



August 9, 2008

liquid paper cartoon
iron rubs out the white face
on the dark wood floor



August 10, 2008

a rock stands against
the sea's passionate assault
the Seer knows I watch*

*


August 11, 2008

[see dream taiga at top of this post]



August 12, 2008

the healer’s neither
blind nor really a healer
I walk up to him
and expose the false healings
but let the faked blindness go

[dream tanka]



August 13, 2008

long estranged and gone
my once best friend confronts me:
recognize this!



August 14, 2008

I'm a large nude man
in a dark subway station
after a short swim
I pray my towel hides me
then hear: look up the word "chill"

[dream tanka]



August 15, 2008

I jump off the ledge
and as always fall slowly
soft tip-toe landing



August 16, 2008

I don’t like any
complicated dream theory
and the man agrees
I’m stunned then when he jumps out
while driving me in our car

[dream tanka]



August 17, 2008

I lift my tom and
a female cat to my breast
welcome weight



August 18, 2008

where have I seen this
terra cotta bowl before
is this another sick bed
my caring will rest beside
or just the past curving through

[dream tanka]



August 19, 2008

I ask the tall man
to pull the bus’s stop cord
second thoughts



August 20, 2008

prisoner-warden
he reaches under the bed
for something important



August 21, 2008

the handsome stranger
presses himself against me
talking about food
my body responds to him
but I tell him to step back

he goes on talking
again angling against me
in the empty store
we agree it’s not the rich
who bear the weight of the past

[dream tanka pair, from one dream]



August 22, 2008

I enjoy his joy
at his shy son’s singing
many part harmony



August 23, 2008

NEW YORK DREAMING FROM CALIFORNIA*

in my robe I walk
all the way to Forest Hills
from my Elmhurst home
I suddenly realize
I’ve no money to get back

after much walking
I take a yellow taxi
then climb the three flights
for cash to pay the driver
he’ll have to trust I’ll return

* dream tanka pair, from one dream



August 24, 2008

she trembles grasping
her vacation photographs
do you need scissors
to open them up, I ask
my ancient pain just like hers

[dream tanka]



August 25, 2008

for exercise class
I rationalize wearing
my lace bra and slip
she tactfully talks with me:
this will discomfit others

[dream tanka]



August 26, 2008

street fighting neighbors
I slam my shutters in fear
and wait for the cops



August 27, 2008

I don’t know the rules
but still enter the foot race
through carpeted halls
two racers taunt as I stretch
I won’t let them get to me

[dream tanka]



August 28, 2008

there’s a mountain
of hand laundry to be done
I hear voices rise
from my stuff-packed living room
two strange young couples greet me

he extends a hand
“let me introduce myself...”*
new friend or burglar

*
I woke singing this line, from The Stones song “Sympathy for the Devil”

[dream tanka and dreamku on one dream]



August 29, 2008

he eats only half
of the large wrapped sandwich
then just puts it down
I pick it up and go find
a legal dump site for it

I show him the piles
of junk awaiting pickup
graceful old bottles
he wants to give to others
I find a new sewing box

all I left or lost
will slowly be replaced here
recycling magic

[two dream tanka and a dreamku all on one dream]



August 30, 2008

he and his woman
make good their crazy escape
from the audience
he quickly slits her throat
and returns to watch the show

[dream tanka]



August 31, 2008

the presence predicts
I'll freeze at first ghost contact
but I'm on a roll
across the bridge by starlight
feet first on a swift gurney

[dream tanka]
 
‘til next time, keep dreaming,





**** [aka: 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”)****My other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL and ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT, and Yahoo DREAMJIN: Group for Dreamku – Haiku-Like Dream Poems ****

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Thursday, July 31, 2008

ALL DAILY DREAMKU POSTED IN JULY 2008

[Image: Temperance (XIV) in The Mary El Tarot]

This month’s crop is probably the least viable that I’ve had since I started doing this in May of 2006. Which makes sense, as in the middle of the month I had very minimal dream recall, and what recall I did have I was lazy about recording and writing any dream poems about. You’ll notice more dream tanka than usual. I was filling in the days for which I had not one dreamku that I’d written or cared to post, with dream tanka I had written earlier. Most of the dream tanka below were written only a matter of several weeks earlier, but by and large, the dreamku (and dream tanka) that I post here are much more current even than that, so it feels like a bit of a “cheat.”

I just read through again to select one or two to highlight this introduction and I found a few more than I had remembered feeling were OK. Here’s one from July 7th:

the spear slips home
“We are connected
by what pierces”


And this pair from one dream of July 12th gives me a satisfying chuckle:

CHANNELING

I start channeling
from my first row seat
a man doubts me

my eyes refocus
I call him by his
many secret names


Oh, and one more, this one from July 16th I like because it is probably the most truly haiku-like dreamku I’ve written in a long time:

her silhouette
before a plate glass window
the choppy lake



ALL DAILY DREAMKU POSTED IN JULY 2008

July 1, 2008

small window-shaped scenes
linked left to right
her new name



July 2, 2008

I pat the stuffed toy
as I rest it in the chair
purple elephant



July 3, 2008

matchless a wild fire looms on the mountain*

* This is a one-liner that became part of a haibun I posted here, about the wild fire on the mountains over Goleta, CA where I live. "Matchless" in addition to referencing the sight of flames on the mountainside, ashes falling like a snow flurry, and dense grey sky with yellowish light from the wild fire, is a pun on my lack of matches to light candles when the electricity went out. It is not a dreamku, if rather surreal as well as raising memories of 9/11 and the many black-outs I lived through in New York city.



July 4, 2008

he's filed for divorce
she leans forward happily
to show her cleavage*

*HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! This dreamku is about the only one I could find in my notebook that had a celebratory feel to it. :-D



July 5, 2008

two-sided surfaces
Mariah Carey judges me
or so I assume



July 6, 2008

I stir up
her bowl full of cereal
the sweet squares rise



July 7, 2008

the spear slips home
“We are connected
by what pierces”



July 8, 2008

though she’s grateful
she wants her toddler son back
the boat docks



July 9, 2008

THE SPIRAL DANCE*

we spiral slowly
down a long church entranceway
the young pastor leaves

one by one, just men's
ancestry is verified
spiraling roll call

one by one, we all find
places to stand along the hall
a lone Jewish man

I stop walking
and join my Jewish friend
comfort against the wall

friends of my youth
she pushes his empty wheelchair
out of the spiral

she has mourned
his death for a full year
she lets the chair go

* A dreamku series covering one dream.



July 10, 2008

cliff hanger
I pull word after word from
the star-filled dark

(a dreamku written recently on a vague visual memory of a 40 year old dream)



July 11, 2008

a new generation
of eucalyptus thrives here
on being cut down
I ask they save for transplant
the tree trunks I helped nurture

(a dream tanka)



July 12, 2008

CHANNELING

I start channeling
from my first row seat
a man doubts me

my eyes refocus
I call him by his
many secret names



July 13, 2008

SHOPPING TRIP

we go through
the glossy old catalog
long gone friend

I wipe each page
with a rose scented cloth
what’ll we buy this time



July 14, 2008

BUGGED

grey carpeted room
they call us guests
but we know better

small lumps of carpet
scurry by my feet
semi-alive bug spies



July 15, 2008

gas station speech
Obama* fills up while
his guests go to church

*[the presumed Democratic nominee for US President]



July 16, 2008

her silhouette
before a plate glass window
the choppy lake



July 17, 2008

pointing left she says
that one’s great just for women
empty white sand beach
I head for the only shade
stripping quickly as I walk



July 18, 2008

flat nighttime shadows
fill the cold statue garden
between two columns
lie photos for a collage
picked only for their feathers



July 19, 2008

CALENDAR READING*

prairie calendar
black and white horses in front
of a grand oak tree

auspicious
for difficult meetings
any month's sixth day

*Those familiar with the Tarot might see The Chariot (VII) in the first dreamku of this pair, and The Lovers (VI) in the second.



July 20, 2008

from his human form
he shifts to his core body
gills await water
green scales refract in sunrise
proof the infant is not his



July 21, 2008

blurry pastel dreams
of not being prepared
my stepmother hovers



July 22, 2008

my deceased horse-cat
says Regis Philbin just died
long scrolling obit*

*The odd thing with this dreamku's source dream is that it was such a convincing speech by the dead horse-cat, that I was almost surprised to see Regis alive on his show that morning. LOL! (Who’s impressionable?)



July 23, 2008

the soldier wounds himself
with a plant bulb he uproots
"April is the cruelest month"*
to keep fighting at the front
with newborn babies at home

* The quoted words open the t.s. eliot poem "The Wasteland." I heard them in the dream several times.



July 24, 2008

on his lengthy leg wound
a water mocassin
beneath a huge black leech
we pull the placid snake out
its stitching shines in the moonlight



July 25, 2008

out of our shared past
the scantily clad young boy
comes for the package
shivering and bold, he says
why should I deliver it?



July 26, 2008

reformed gunfighter
he kisses the topaz ring
he gave me



July 27, 2008

tiger tracking
my poetic perspective's
the missing essential



July 28, 2008

WALKING AWAY

he criticizes
my hiking stick flute playing*
gray-walled conference

their endless fight
angered I yell "cut it out"
leaderless group

proof of no ego
her prompt and quiet exit
from the argument

* I just recently bought an actual bamboo walking stick that is also a transverse flute. And I can't play it very well as the finger holes are a little too far apart for my small hands (I've had this problem with other flutes I did not get a chance to check out beforehand). I'll eventually find the right angle at which to hold my left hand and fingers, which are the most problematic. What playing I can do at this point has a really nice mellow sound.



July 29, 2008

I pull the names
of war dead out of the listing
observant old vet



July 30, 2008

new home, young brother
I pull the divider-curtain
between he and me



July 31, 2008

the baseball cap beak
of her black nun-like habit
early client


* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,





**** [aka: 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”)****My other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL and ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT, and Yahoo DREAMJIN: Group for Dreamku – Haiku-Like Dream Poems ****

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Sunday, June 22, 2008

TWO SCIFAIKU & A DREAM TANKA: Response to One Single Impression Prompt of 6/22/08


[two scifaiku]


no way to go
"Crazy" plays as the glass
starship cracks


* * * *

tea in cracked cups
rescued crash landers
learn an alien song



* * * * * * * * * * * *



[a dream tanka]


the disaster spreads
outside my plate glass window
I wake while writing a song:
nothing’s a sure thing, baby,
so play the game with most heart


* * * *

The prompt for this week at ONE SINGLE IMPRESSION is “melody.” The first two pieces above are scifaiku. The third is a tanka about a dream. (I wrote those last two lines in the dream along with a tune, but I can’t recall the melody – sigh.)

Visit ONE SINGLE IMPRESSION to enjoy the melodies with which the others play.

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,





**** [aka: 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”)****My other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL and ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT, and Yahoo DREAMJIN: Group for Dreamku – Haiku-Like Dream Poems ****

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