Roswila's Dream & Poetry Realm

CONVERSING (photo) & ON THE PLANET OF ICE AND OCEAN (dreamku) by Roswila

2012-02-13T11:15:00.000-08:00

ON THE PLANET OF ICE AND OCEAN

I.

the planet’s natives
whisper in our minds: you are
meant to be incubators,
each egg will develop slowly
as if crystallizing

my egg grows quickly
hatching the expected sea form
a silver female
she matures immediately
diving into the frigid ocean

from inside her mind
I gaze at her cold liquid world
I reflexively
flinch when she begins to breathe
this unfamiliar element

a maternal pride
rises as I sense her long
pale curvature
note the slim blood red gills
that line her vaguely human shape

II.

my friend and I chat
about the sci-fi novel
we’ve both just finished
her recall of the plot line
much different than mine

unsettled for a moment
I recover quickly
treasuring my ride
in an alien mind through
even stranger waters

no two paths alike
not even through the same novel

[dreamku series on a dream of 10-26-11. Photo "Conversing" by Roswila]

PLEASE NOTE that I never have nor do I now lay claim to having been the first to suggest writing about our dreams in the haiku form. In fact, the haijin (Haiku Masters of centuries ago) sometimes wrote haiku on dreams. But even more importantly, what I have been developing for several years now on this blog is not even truly haiku or tanka or monoku. The ways in which I have been using and experimenting with these forms makes the results more akin to kissing cousins of these small Eastern poetry forms. Therefore, I mostly use the term "dreamku" to distinguish what I do from those traditional forms. Click here for a more in-depth INTRODUCTION than follows below, including links to my THREE PART PRIMER on the basic (most haiku-like) dreamku form.

Also, the photo accompanying a daily dream poem or non-dream based poem is not necessarily meant to illustrate it, but to reflect some small, even slant aspect of the verse -- similar to Japanese haiga (illustrated haiku). I've also recently realized that although the dreamku (i.e. dream based poems) posted here tend not to have metaphor or simile, the accompanying photos almost always act as such.

To write a metaphor or simile into a dream scenario is something I rarely do. It can be confusing: did it really look like a hand, say, in the dream, or am I just being poetic to make my conscious point? As these dreamku act as a dream journal, my over-riding tendency is to try to stay close to the actual dream scenario itself. Admittedly making for a tendency to less "poetic" dreamku. Then why pay attention to any haiku, tanka, or monoku parameters at all when writing about my dreams? Because I find in even attempting to adhere to them I'm making choices that relieve my dream recall of a great deal of chatter so that I can get down to some important dream aspects. Here's a link to THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING PHOTOS in which I go into some of the basic parameters for dreamku and the photos chosen to go with them (and with any non-dream based poems I post here, as well).

The archives in the sidebar hold years of the daily dreamku, tanka, monoku and photo posts I've made, grouped in one post by month. As I no longer post dreamku (or non-dream based poems) strictly daily, each post will appear below and then in the archives by the day on which it was posted.

There are many other sorts of posts here, not all dream-based. I indicate which are about or influenced by dreams. Some non-dream focused posts are book reviews, "regular" poems (some by other writers than myself), 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 in the sidebar.

* * * *

‘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; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and OPENING TO THE LIGHT ****

2011-12-24T11:21:00.001-08:00

2011-11-21T17:21:00.000-08:00

2011-11-08T16:20:00.000-08:00

UNFURLING

moonlight sings sweetly
tuning the bare tree branches
like a dryad’s dream
before an ancient oak tree
ferns unfurl rapidly

my companion leans
into me whispering,
something about this
scintillating beauty
makes him very uneasy

I can’t disagree
but the rise of the dark ferns
mesmerizes me
I watch their curves climb moonlight
and hold my breath

[three tanka on a dream of 11-4-11. Photo “Lean On Me” by Roswila]

PLEASE NOTE that in most browsers you can click on the above image for a larger version. Also, that the photo accompanying a daily dream poem or non-dream based poem is not necessarily meant to illustrate it, but to reflect some small, even slant aspect of the verse -- similar to Japanese haiga (illustrated haiku). I've also recently realized that although the dreamku (i.e. dream based poems) posted here tend not to have metaphor or simile, the accompanying photos almost always act as such. And to write a metaphor or simile into a dream scenario is something I rarely do. It can be confusing: did it really look like a hand, say, in the dream, or am I just being poetic to make my conscious point? As these dreamku act as a dream journal, my over-riding tendency is to try to stay close to the actual dream scenario itself. Admittedly making for less "poetic" dreamku. Then why pay attention to any haiku, tanka, or monoku parameters at all when writing about my dreams? Because I find in even attempting to adhere to them I'm making choices that relieve my dream recall of a great deal of chatter so that I can get down to some important dream aspects. Here's a link to THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING PHOTOS in which I go into some of the basic parameters for dreamku and the photos chosen to go with them (and with any non-dream based poems I post here, as well).

The archives in the sidebar hold years of the daily dreamku, tanka, monoku and photo posts I've made, grouped in one post by month. As I no longer post dreamku (or non-dream based poems) strictly daily, each post will appear below and then in the archives by the day on which it was posted.

There are many other sorts of posts here, not all dream-based. I indicate which are about or influenced by dreams. Some non-dream focused posts are book reviews, "regular" poems (some by other writers than myself), 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.

Click here for a more in-depth INTRODUCTION.

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,

WARRIOR, by guest poet ROBERT ROMANELLI

2011-11-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

WARRIOR

Dead in body but not in soul, Agnes
drove her spirit to span the galaxies,
from quasar to super cluster,
though no one on earth took notice.

Frayed at the edges was the cot
she had scavenged for sleep.
Deserted and neglected was the lonely
brick house on that desolate street,
where her room in the basement stretched
thin the limits of abandoned consolations.

Yet closet of prayer it was, this sad sinking
abode, her decaying cathedral in the heart
of a ghetto of dread, a shack of old stones
bridging nebulae whose diameters could span
the space across a thousand solar systems.

Agnes never thought of the stars above.
She did not need to. Prayer worked.
Power flowed. In that hope she had faith.
Over the years she had seen it happen,
the rising and falling of dynasties and
kingdoms, the flood of miracles.

Barely did her flesh cast a shadow
on the limed-over bricks in this room,
walls that had witnessed sorrow and suffering,
violence and blood, the horrors of death,
indifference and forgotten dreams, lost plans,
lost hope, lost time. In spite of this oppression,
Agnes uttered much prayer.

No human eyes saw her hands aflutter,
but angels inscribed each spoken phrase.
And when Agnes raised her arms in praise,
starry systems parted, paths appeared between
heaven and earth; armies marched to do
God's will, and the universe tottered on
the brink of destruction.

Agnes worshiped Jehovah-Nissi—
the powers of darkness shuddered in terror.
Great was their fear at the slightest moving
of her old parched lips.

ALL DAILY DREAMKU, DREAM TANKA, AND PHOTOS BY ROSWILA POSTED IN SEPTEMBER 2011

[PLEASE NOTE that in most browsers you can click on the image for a larger version.]

September 1, 2011

THIS TIME

this time she doesn’t
have to lash herself to the mast
of the here and now
the past’s once siren call
just falls vaguely around her ...

flickering faintly
like an old silent movie
the only show
in some tumbledown town
in an echoing dusty hall

[two tanka on a dream of 8-31-11. Image “Seasonal Music” by Roswila]

September 2, 2011

TO THE EDGE

two men will move out
once the party’s over;
their small dog pulls one
to the edge of the suburb curb
greeting guests and anxious to leave

no time to express
how I’ll miss these two men
I have to complete
party preparations despite
the growing presence of sadness

sunny afternoon the Tree of Heaven bows

[two tanka and a monoku on a dream of 9-1-11. Image “The Edge” by Roswila]

September 3, 2011

go on now, Time says,
the next ten minutes are lucky
enjoy this heads up

[dreamku on a dream fragment of 9-2-11. Image “Make Me An Offer” by Roswila]

August 4, 2011

AT BAY

night forces a halt
we set up camp by the light
of red draperies –
the dark from which these curtains
reweave tightens by inches

[tanka on a dream of 9-3-11. Image “At the Edge of Night” by Roswila]

September 5, 2011

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

first day on the job
the new young guy out-performs
every one of us
with no training or even
orientation he excels

unlike another
new young gal working the phones
whom the boss doesn’t like:
she speaks too loud, he says,
when she even speaks at all

why tell me, I think,
give her a clue of what she needs
to know to do her job
stars like that new young man are rare
and burn out all too quickly

[three tanka on a dream of 9-4-11. Image “Sunburn” by Roswila]

September 6, 2011

AMBUSH

the dog attacks her
its cavernous mouth nearly
chewing her up whole
she beats back this dark ambush
as she does the next, and the next

why did no one see
this war in front of their eyes
she checks her body
for wounds then gives in to the
pressure for explanation

her mouth spills words her eyes watch for the dog’s return

[two tanka and a monoku on a dream of 9-5-11. Image “Bird of Prey” by Roswila]

September 7, 2011

DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE

one after another
photos flicker like birthday candles
party time, or warning?

[dreamku on a dream of 9-6-11. The syllable count is over in all three lines of this dreamku. As I've mentioned here before, this is something I'm doing on occasion rather than twist the dream image out of shape or artificially expand it into a five line tanka. Image “Me First!” by Roswila]

September 8, 2011

ALL IN A NIGHT’S WORK

in a garden labyrinth
hanging and re-hanging pictures
adjusting angles
a thought of “why bother” dispersed
by living silver moonlight

[a tanka on a dream of 9-7-11. Image “Night Vision” by Roswila]

September 9, 2011

A GOTHIC INTEREGNUM

news of a girl’s murder
then of a dark fantasy book
the only events
that pull the focus from the self,
from its ancient needy grip

[a tanka on a dream of 9-8-11. Image “The Midas Touch” by Roswila]

September 10, 2011

all dream memories
crumbled by noisy street life
wide open window
each waking in the warm night
trailing the dust of shy ghosts

[a tanka on the total lack of dream recall for the evening of 9-9-11. Image “Primary Collapse” by Roswila]

September 11, 2011

I’m departing from my usual dream poem post in order to acknowledge the tenth year observance today of the felling of New York city’s Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. I was a life-long resident of New York city before moving here to California in 2008. So at the time of the disaster I was living and working in NYC. The poem below is about an experience I had one week after the towers were felled, on my way to work.

MORNING RUSH HOUR 9/18/01 *

the toddler cries "I want Mommy, I want Mommy…"

her parents squeeze into the crowded subway car,
Daddy holding the screeching child,
who strains toward her mother

her father hands her to Mommy,
a generous man giving them a seat
the child's father struggles further into the full car
out of the way of more passengers entering

the toddler starts sobbing "I want Daddy, I want Daddy…"

I choke back tears of my own as I think
of all the children now missing parents,
who cannot cry out and have them return

is this inconsolable child feeling all our fear and loss
in which she is awash, and crying all our tears

the sobbing toddler grasps between the legs
of passengers trying to reach her father

"God will lift Daddy up to heaven,"
a grieving mother said, her child responding
"Does God have enough hands?"

Does God have enough hands to help us
bear our grief, to help us live compassionately,
to help us heal that gaping hole in the human spirit
that opens wherever ignorance and hate prevail?

the child's father finally wends his way
toward his crying child and takes her frantically
waving hand, "Pleased to meet you,"
he tentatively jokes

she starts to sob "I want my grandma…"
this small child, reflecting the grief
of our stricken city, this looming grief
of the ages

*published in the award winning Anthology “An Eye for An Eye Makes the Whole World Blind: Poets on 9/11,” Regent Press, 2002.

Patricia Kelly © 2011

September 12, 2011

dreams tease gliding by
like those transparent floaters
in one’s vision,
dangling repeating shapes but
devoid of any content

[a tanka on an evening of forgotten dreams 9-11-11. Image "Water Wight" by Roswila]

September 13, 2011

SORTING LAUNDRY

Willie Nelson’s bras
sparkle with sequined feathers
washing would wreck them
I remove this bright plumage
for interim safekeeping

[a tanka on a dream of 9-12-11. Image “Psst, I’ve Got Your Back” by Roswila]

September 14, 2011

A BEDTIME STORY

she will not say who
her son’s father is, nor how
she found men she’d extort
but she’s got a good job now
and is determined to go straight

the shadowy times of
blaming fatherhood on rich man
after rich man, past
they can keep their filthy lucre
she’ll live clean and clear in the sun

[two tanka on a dream of 9-13-11. Image “Artemis at Her Bath” by Roswila]

September 15, 2011

DIFFERENCE

what’s the difference
between the “V” of the Peace Sign
and that of Victory?
this inquiry gets lost beneath the
issue of angle:

place your two fingered “V”
against that of the Machine’s
a match means you’re right

[a tanka and a dreamku on a dream of 9-12-11. Image “The Growing Edge” by Roswila]

September 16, 2011

NOT SO SIMPLE

“supply and demand”
what a crock! especially
when applied to food

what happens if food
demand leads to famine
where do prices go then?

it all depends on
emotion, not some so-called law
they can call it “lack
of consumer confidence” but
it’s still fear of empty bellies

[two dreamku and a tanka on a dream of 9-15-11. Image “Hue and Cry” by Roswila]

September 17, 2011

stopped in my tracks:
down the subway stairs
a deep moonlit forest

[No dream recall for evening of 9-16-11, so I’m re-posting this old one from April of 2008, dreamed/written two months after I moved here to California. Image “The World Tree” by Roswila]

September 18, 2011

THE SECRET

the delicate tree
with its small spear shaped leaves grows
throughout her body
it will blush forever red
keeping her lie to itself

[a tanka on a dream of 9-17-11. Image “Firefall” by Roswila]

September 19, 2011

[No dream recall from last night, or rather what I had was chased away by waking to my cell phone alarm. Image "Nap Time" by Roswila]

September 20, 2011

HALLELUJAH

ancient sandstone cliffs
snapping photo after photo
“Hallelujah ... Hallelujah...”
the song echos off layers
of luminous curves

[a tanka on a dream of 9-19.11. The song I heard was Leonard Cohen’s "Hallelujah." Though all that was being sung was the repeated hallelujah, often the high harmony line. And that's something I find odd in my dreams. Not only do I often remember/sing (or so it seems :-D) melodies I can't recall when awake, but I often sing the harmony lines. The latter is something I find quite challening to do when awake, even when I know the tune extremely well. Image “Petroglyph” by Roswila]

September 21, 2011

it’s our nightly job
to patrol the grand old theatre
his aging mind nearly
as empty as the carpeted
aisles and vast vaulted stage

I don’t begrudge him this
end of life job, though I wind up
patrolling alone
the peaceful void draped
with unexamined shadows

why disturb what lurks there’s nothing left to guard

[two tanka and a monoku on a dream of 9-20-11. Image “Out of the Shadows” by Roswila]

NO POST September 22, 2011 [Con Ed scheduled power outages]

September 23, 2011

MOVING LIFE

outside her window
a gnarled old tree casts shadows
would that it could talk

on one of her walls
a huge painted frame drum rests
in afternoon light
its black and white abstract stripes
don’t fit the feel of the scene

but the drum’s thrumming!
a heart needs no designs
no artful crafting
just an authentic beat
moving life through the great round

[a dreamku and two tanka on a dream of 9-22-11. No post yesterday (9-22-11). Power outages had been scheduled by Con Ed for between 8:00 and 5:00, so I just didn’t turn my computer on until late evening. Image “Hidden Heart” by Roswila]

September 24, 2011

an aquarium!
this new computer back up
file system really rocks

simple and quite fast
the lamp light refracts through
its watery blues
while over its bottom data rolls
sparkling vaguely like dunes

[a dreamku and tanka on a dream of 9-23-11. LOL! This dream seems to be a metaphor for what dreams do (at least at a primary level) -- "lay down" experience in longer term memory. Image “Layering” by Roswila]

September 25, 2011

LOOKING FOR ROOM 730

the new hotel’s built
at least ten floors underground
the halls re-painted
many times for water stains
and replastered for large cracks

I can’t stop thinking
of pressure from floors above
I won’t stay here again

[a tanka and dreamku on a dream of 9-24-11. Image “The Long Haul” by Roswila]

September 26, 2011

DONE

liking and respect
aside, I’ve been there, done that ...
he keeps recruiting

adding vitamins
to vegetarianism
and openness to
social action didn’t help then
and doesn’t change a thing now

[a dreamku and tanka on a dream of 9-25-11. Image “Mars Landing” by Roswila]

September 27, 2011

SERIAL DREAM

the center of our
earth is warm and brightly lit
we post new haiku
on ancestor trees and boulders
sand shifting beneath our bare feet

each time this dream light
dies out in the chilly night
I turn over quickly
and glide gladly back to sleep
the earth’s center opening warmly

[two tanka on a dream of 9-26-11. Image “Leaf Blot” by Roswila]

September 28 ,2011

A KISS INSTEAD

the queue grows, couple
by couple, some strangers
some long-time lovers,
each anxious to offer up
their lip-lock toward world peace

the moonlight the carnival mood my aloneness

[a tanka and a monoku on a dream of 9-28-11. Image “In the Night” by Roswila]

September 29, 2011

For all my Jewish friends and readers:
May Your ROSH HASHANNAH Be Blessed
(New Year 5772)

* * * * * * * *

A MESSAGE FROM CARDEA

“the power of space
made sacred by communal
dance rehearsals
and especially of
a doorway threshold...”

who is there pauses
anymore to softly sense
and respect edges –
door sills trod without a care
dangerously stir hidden power

[two tanka on a dream of 9-28-11. The first tanka is almost a verbatim quote from the dream. The speaker was a dark-haired unknown man as we stood outside the door to a dance studio. Cardea is the Roman Goddess of doors, and therefore of protecting home and children from evil. Although Cardea was not directly referenced in the dream, She was my immediate association on waking in the middle of the night. Image "Galactic Dance" by Roswila]

September 30, 2011

TALKING HEADS

she never shuts up
yet I can’t catch sight of her
in our woman’s group
then, there, askew on the couch
her endlessly talking head!

* * * *

the students announce
a new campus wide ruling:
headless folk who wear
electronic prostheses
may join the student body

[two tanka on two separate dreams of 9-28-11. These dreams weren’t funny on dreaming them, but neither were they very serious. Just sort of matter of fact. But, a couch potato head? And that pun on “body” in the second dream? :-D I think I watched way too much T.V. that evening before going to bed. Image "The Great Round" by Roswila]

* * * *

‘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, OPENING TO THE LIGHT (digital photos by Roswila);and Yahoo DREAMJIN: Group for Dreamku – Haiku-Like Dream Poems ****

WEEKLY DREAMKU WITH DIGITAL PHOTO

2011-10-16T05:52:00.000-07:00

(Photo: "Music at Sunset" by Roswila)

FIRE & WATER
(two separate dreamku series on dreams from two different nights)

THE “TO DO” LIST

“What’s been deleted”
she asks crankily
“from this lengthy list,
I need to see what’s not going
to ever appear again.”

revealed in response,
an emerging phoenix –
she comprehends, then
finds seeing other deletions
no longer so desirable

it’s enough to know:
this one repeated burning hurt
will not be born again

[two tanka and a dreamku on a dream of 10-13-11]

* * * * * * * *

ON GETTING EVEN OLDER

echoing up three
flights of stairs under sunset
bamboo flute music

I yearn to join their
impromptu gathering
playing softly along
but I dare not attempt to
navigate the steep stairs

listening will suffice
night and notes fall lightly
wistful fairy dust

[a dreamku, tanka, and dreamku on a dream of 10-12-11]

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,

ALL DAILY DREAMKU, TANKA & PIX FOR AUGUST 2011 by Roswila

2011-09-19T00:10:00.000-07:00

This is the first complete month with hardly any dream comments by me following the photos and poems. I thought after all this time “analyzing” as I have been I might find this difficult or not desirable in the long run. But I’m finding it the opposite. If feels freeing. Which may very well have to do with what was stated outright in the dream from which this sample dreamku series of August 2 is drawn:

THE WILD HUNT

where are last night’s dreams?
they stick like spider webs to
the edge of my mind
their glitter urging me forward
off an endless cliff

why their swift passage
like fairies on wall-eyed mounts ....
but perhaps some dreams
should not be met on their wild
hunt through darkest woods

Hope you and yours are all safe and well. And that you find at least something intriguing or enjoyable in these August offerings.

ALL DAILY DREAMKU, DREAM TANKA, AND PHOTOS BY ROSWILA POSTED IN AUGUST 2011

[PLEASE NOTE that in most browsers you can click on the image for a larger version.]

August 1, 2011

STIRRING

rescued by a man
from suffocation in the stroller:
an infant named Noah

self-absorption breached
his young mother notices
Noah needs to sleep
she lifts him gently against
her left breast where he nods out

his little weight stirs her heart – his golden hair

[a dreamku, tanka, and monoku on a dream of 7-31-11. Image by Roswila]

August 2, 2011

THE WILD HUNT

where are last night’s dreams?
they stick like spider webs to
the edge of my mind
their glitter urging me forward
off an endless cliff

why their swift passage
like fairies on wall-eyed mounts ....
but perhaps some dreams
should not be met on their wild
hunt through darkest woods

[two tanka on a night of forgotten dreams, 8-1-11. I’ve thought for some time that maybe not all dreams need or should be remembered. When the fairy hunt image came to me drafting this dream/ku I immediately thought of the Eight of Wands, referencing The Wild Hunt, in Karen Manony’s wonderful “The Fairytale Tarot”:

The most relevant aspect in this old fairytale is that there may be something hazardous in encountering these fairies on their wild night hunt. In terms of dream work, I hear a suggestion that some work may be better handled by our unconscious, or maybe can only be handled by that about us that is deeper and greater than our small waking sense of consciousness. The photo at the top of this post is by Roswila]

August 3, 2011

A QUESTION OF REALITY

fervid descriptions of her
first and only love:
great looks, calm, and grace head up
the list, as galaxies of tears
punctuate the night of her eyes

her belief’s palpable
in this paragon of her
own creation ....
I drop all analysis
and let her pain enter my heart

[two tanka on a dream of 8-2-11. Image "Unfolding" by Roswila]

August 4, 2011

the brassy girl says
she’ll gladly learn to untangle
the spinner tentacles
I start to show her and it’s so
much fun I do it all myself

[a tanka on a dream of 8-3-11. Image "Salad Days" by Roswila]

August 5, 2011

it comes down to this
my photos will warm or feed her
homeless woman’s choice

[a dreamku on a dream of 8-4-11. Image "Goth Wedding" by Roswila]

August 6, 2011

SWEET SILENCE

it’s like marriage,
he says, you work for me so
need not testify
whatever you hold to be true
may be held in sweet silence

[a tanka on a dream of 8-5-11. Image "At Day's End" by Roswila]

August 7, 2011

TEENAGERS ALL

his long blonde hair won’t
stay rolled up in large curlers
it unfurls again
covering his face
like a silent waterfall

none of his male friends
understand what he’s attempting
yet tease anyway
one guy makes fun of his hair
loud and mercilessly

none think to inquire
what he’d hoped to create
curling his long hair
nor do they listen when he
tries to share that inner vision

[three tanka on a dream of 8-6-11. Image "Loving Long Hair" by Roswila]

August 8, 2011

DANCE STUDIO

he only watches
bewildered, as she tries to
teach him how to dance
how to raise power that
will save his awkward young life

like Wonder Woman
she brandishes wide bracelets
on her flashing wrists
their studs and leather repel
an attack of dark

but more darkness
will climb the stairs to fight them
he must learn to dance
he must learn how to shelter
the bright burning of his own light

[three tanka on a dream of 8-7-11. Image “Sheltering Arms” by Roswila]

August 9, 2011

coming and going –
the cruising black cadillac’s long lines
please from both angles

sleek eye candy (maybe it’s the chrome trim)

[a dreamku and monoku on a dream of 8-8-11. Image “Hour Glass” by Roswila]

August 10, 2011

BEYOND BELIEF

they all believe it
with only rumor as proof
ignorance unites
they turn their backs to
the writing on the wall:

like the first item
heading up a treasure hunt
cautioning doubt shines
the writer puts down the pen
and stands aside ignored

[two tanka on a dream of 8-10-11. Image by Roswila; one "incarnation" of our Poetry Nook on the grounds where I live, it changes and evolves]

August 11, 2011

LOST LADY

she freezes briefly
like a deer caught in headlights as
my alarm clock rings –
retrieved by the void, nothing
trails with which to grasp her

[a tanka on a dream of 8-10-11. Image “Caught Up In The Light” by Roswila]

August 12, 2011

EASY DOES IT

how will he ever
recognize that trio whose
singing he loved
he sets clear criteria
by which he’s sure he’ll know them

each of us in turn
will sing in a group of three
though willing, I’m puzzled:
it was ease he’d so admired
yet he makes no room for it

[two tanka on a dream of 8-11-11. I'm finding a nice side effect to pairing poems and pix. I've finally accepted the necessity of naming all my photos for record keeping purposes, i.e. for ease (:-D) of retrieval given I have have thousands on my computer. Titling has always been something that happens right a way or doesn't at all. And I find forcing a title a lengthy effort, with the results sometimes still unsatisfying. However, once I've selected an unamed pic for this post it means I've identified something about it that often quickly suggests a title. In essense, the selection for pairing with a dream poem points to a metaphor within the pic to take off from in the photo's title. Image “Reaching for the High Notes” by Roswila. This is one of my oldest photos, which I note in an attempt to excuse the poor focus :-D, though I'm still fond of this pic of those three "reachers" -- a trio I see every day.]

August 13, 2011

WHAT'S THE POINT

sorted by flavor
every single ice cream cup
she’d ever emptied –
lined up in rows they obstruct
the sunny rose filled garden

rounding the corner
to better make the point:
a huge container
with cups crowded noisily
into it like a bag of cats

[two tanka on a dream of 8-12-11. Image “Do You Get My Point?” by Roswila]

August 14, 2011

NEW HEAD

her expertise makes
the two young interns nervous
new hospital head

she’s aghast at the
total focus on profits
and pampering the rich –
a concierge hospital
what an awful concept

alone at the top
she corrects and educates
as she goes along
she barely has time to wonder
why such a place hired her

[a dreamku and two tanka on a dream of 8-13-11. Image "One Step at a Time" by Roswila]

August 15, 2011

THIS ABOVE ALL

the cite in her text’s
not worded exactly right
I suggest a tweak

"It’s the visual
and visceral effect
I care about above all,"
she responds, "academic rules
don’t matter nearly as much"

[a dreamku and tanka on a dream of 8-14-11. Yes, the title is from those famous lines by Shakespeare in Hamlet that continue “...to thine own self be true. And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.” These lines were always quoted in my family as meaning the obvious about honesty starting with one’s self. And that’s how I’m using them here. However, in googling for the exact wording I read what was – at least to me – a somewhat different slant on what these lines are saying when read within the context of the entire “Neither A Borrower Nor Lender Be” speech and the times in which the play was written. Click here and scroll down for this interpretation. Image "Starlight Vision" by Roswila]

August 16, 2011

THE FIRST TREE

dark celebrities
want to post my old photo:
a huge, densely leafed tree

they say they must see
both the original and
edited versions
my sigh of relief: the first’s
by far the better photo

[a dreamku and tanka on a dream of 8-15-11. Trees often appear in my dreams, though haven’t much recently. When they do they are always a central image/focus that puts me in mind of the mythological World Tree. Image “Stumbling on Fairy Land” by Roswila]

August 17, 2011

T.V. PILOT SHOWS

to her amusement
her new boyfriend’s Mr. Gray
neither this nor that
just a small clever young man
with rumored mob connections

* * * *

The Devil’s lengthy
soliloquy rhymes in the
newest patter style
his horns are small, his grin charming
but I don’t understand a word he says

[two tanka on a dream of 8-16-11. Image "The First Stroke" by Roswila]

August 18, 2011

THAT WHICH WE CALL

paintings scroll slowly
through the air in front of us
a lengthy series

each is said to be
of a turkey but they’re really
horse head silhouettes
judges start culling the batch
but all look just fine to me

[a dreamku and tanka on a dream of 8-17-11. Image “Rolling On By” by Roswila]

August 19, 2011

anxiety spins you
from question to question
beloved dust devil

[a tanka on a dream of 8-18-11. Image “Spelunkers” (formerly “Interrogation”) by Roswila]

August 20, 2011

WHERE ALL THE BODIES ARE BURIED

he won’t own the wall
with which denial surrounds him
a glass mosaic
made from his long buried pain
that he only sees as the world’s

* * * *

silky arrow-straight
loose black hair shimmers down her back
to just past her waist
her white sheath dress highlights her curves
but it’s her hair that mesmerizes

I can’t stop staring
as she readies for her job:
homicide squad cop

[a tanka on one dream; then a tanka and dreamku on another of the same night, 8-19-11. Both these dreams were in the first REM cycle of the night. The rest of the night’s dreams were more fun, especially one sex dream. I’d have written about that one but it was rather ordinary, if enjoyable. :-) Image “Hedging All Bets” by Roswila]

August 21, 2011

EGO RULES

instead of “gittin’
while the gittin’s good” she pushes
back up the staircase
the exiting crowd around
squashing breath from its own first wave

she ignores this danger
in her own surge to prop up
her wobbling ego
she must have agreement from
that man struggling down above her

though bones may break
and breath no longer fill lungs
the small ego rules

[two tanka and a dreamku on a dream of 8-20-11. Image "At the End of the Rainbow" by Roswila]

August 22, 2011

DYNAMICS

a youthful foursome –
three dark-haired gals and a guy –
enter from stage left
their two pianos are far apart
but they rise to the occasion

hurrying back and forth’s
quickly incorporated
into their playing
the tiny pause between phrases
actually heightening their art

[two tanka on a dream of 8-21-11. Image "Strip Tease" by Roswila]

August 23, 2011

THE POINT

three dark blue dots up
and three more on the climb down,
the eternal point
a clear space at the turning:
breathe and it’s already gone

[a tanka on a dream of 8-22-11. Image “The Romantic” by Roswila]

August 24, 2011

THE PAGE OF FEAR

how can she escape
this scenario unfolding
in her reeling mind,
this unbearable tumult
.... and so she forces wakefulness

this false awakening
instantly dissipates in new
agitated or bland
alien or familiar worlds
all bearable and forgotten

a vague flutter in the long night The Page of Fear

[two tanka and a monoku on dreams of 8-23-11. Pages in The Tarot are usually seen as messengers. (There is no Page of Fear, though given the vast numbers of new and creative decks these days I could imagine there being one I haven’t come across.) Image “Dark Memories” by Roswila]

August 25, 2011

EMBELLISHMENT

“One can count only
on the dead for full disclosure...”
the sad irony echos
as she quickly signs off
the internet game board

her embellished signature long teal blue loops

[a tanka and a monoku on a dream of 8-24-11. Image “The Nib” by Roswila]

August 26, 2011

TWO DIMENSIONS

the turquoise sweater
entirely changes his look
successful up-date
my appreciative smile with
a whispered: it’s inside out

* * * *

is it thievery
to lift this slide of herself
from the old woman’s floor
she craves a print of its bright
cartoon version of herself:

slim, young and quite blonde
wearing a tight blue sweater
with orange letters
yet still recognizable as her
in two see-through dimensions

[a tanka on one dream and two tanka on another of 8-25-11. Image “Dreaming in Color” by Roswila]

August 27, 2011

THE REMAINS OF THE DAY

she comes from a long
line of conservatives
their minds as buttoned
up and dark as their clothing
and atrophied spirits

she can’t recall when
or how but she injured one
in her fight to escape
and now her mother’s tracked her down,
the most controlling of them all

staring at her own
face in the bathroom mirror
she awaits her fate –
over her shoulder her mother’s
righteous mien and raised fist

“Back off! Stop! Basta...”
she yells at her cold mother
“...then maybe we’ll talk” --
her mother’s fist stock still in the air,
her own fearful mind ajar

* * * *

her motorcycle
in their “His ‘n Hers” pair is dead
as surely dead as
any bug once squashed on its
yawning plastic windscreen

the motor of his own
in this ancient duo he’d unearthed
seeking an escape
barely turns over at all
lying on its side, coughing

he stands alone in
the cold encroaching shadows
they weight his shoulders

[a dreamku series each on the first and last dreams of 8-26-11. The title is a reference to the novel and movie of the same name. I have not read the novel, but did see the movie many years ago. Image "Descent" by Roswila]

August 28, 2011

THE CHANGELING

the rips and wrinkles
in the book he just bought ...
she can’t repair them
no matter how she folds
and fusses with the pages

and he’d been so pleased
to share its storied bounty –
she’ll buy some other
and leave it in place of his,
a bookish changeling

[two tanka on a dream of 8-27-11. Image “Dreaming of Home” by Roswila]

August 29, 2011

OF MOONLIGHT AND OUBLIETTES

(the picture flashes BIGsmall ... BIGsmall ... BIGsmall)

does anyone know
she’s down here in the empty dark
should she try yelling

(flashing ... the BIGsmall ... BIGsmall ... black and white)

can she even know
she’s anyone? ghosts and thoughts
silent and unreachable

(like ... the BIGsmall picture)

in her mind, moonlight
a round entrance in the ground
a woman passing by ...
the scene could use baying but
there’s only the flashing

(BIGsmall ... BIGsmall ... BIGsmall)

[dreamku series on a dream of 8-28-11. Not surprising I had Gothic imagery in a dream. I’ve not only been reading a rather Gothic novel, but just started studying The Bohemian Gothic Tarot. Image "In the Vampire's Garden" by Roswila]

August 30, 2011

THE SEARCH

the nude young couple
frolics their way through the lost
land of endless snow
their serious search for clues
never fully forgotten

briefly separated
by hillocks of sparkling white
they tunnel apart
snow piling up between them –
intuition has gripped them both

each spots a small ring,
ancient terra cotta with
magical symbols
more the size of children's bracelets
when lifted in the snow shadows

what will these rings reveal
once deciphered together
and what might they see
these round unblinking eyes
these empty irises

[four tanka on a dream of 8-29-11. Image "The Way Opens" by Roswila]

August 31, 2011

HOOKED ON THE MOON

no, time’s not ripe
(I respond to her question
concerning my eyes)
not time to whet them on
harsh lessons from edges

rather time to let
moonlight climb over the rose
covered balustrade
softening softening
in the inquisitive shadows

* * * *

the paddle wheel boat
rides down the night-cloaked river
silent as it churns ...

a wide step forward
as its paddles lift dripping,
the water batting
moonlight into her eyes
then closing over ...

ultimately unmarked
by what enters and leaves it
enters and leaves

[a dreamku series on each of two dreams from 8-30-11. As once before recently, the first and last dreams recalled of the evening. Image “Hooked on the Moon” by Roswila]

* * * *

‘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, OPENING TO THE LIGHT (for digital pix only), and Yahoo DREAMJIN: Group for Dreamku – Haiku-Like Dream Poems ****

Review of SURREALITIES by Bruce Boston

2011-08-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

Dark Regions Press, Colusa CA 95932
www.darkregions.com
ISBN978-1-037128-13-5, $9.95

As a long time fan of Bruce Boston’s writing (both science fiction, e.g. The Gardener’s Tale, and poetry books), I was not at all surprised to be deeply moved by his newest poetry collection, SURREALITIES. These poems reside in a constantly shifting liminality long familiar to this dream-worker and Tarot reader in her own work, but flavored and shaped by Boston’s unique accent and structure. What we name the surreal, that to this writer by any other name means “connection.” I.e., a meeting (as in metaphor) of things not usually perceived as existing together.

In a further sense of connection, these poems offer opportunities to meet up with other realities always creating and undoing themselves beyond our grasp, but now available to our sensoriums. Make of them what we may, and let me emphasize that there is much I found myself making of these poems in laughter, in sighs, in bursts of sad or “ah hah” recognition. But just experiencing these fantastic hybrids – in and of themselves – was a gift.

I particularly reveled in the ink blot illustrations that Boston made and chose for this collection. Possibly because of my own heavily visual orientation, even in poetry. And as Boston’s poems have an emphasize on structure or geometry, an almost mathematical impact, the ink blots gave me further entrance into the surrealities in this book. (Or they into me?)

I am sure I would have said this even had the last poem in his book not been a surreal Tarot reading: The entire experience of this book is like a dense and portentous Tarot reading. One in which meaning always seems to slip right out of our grasp. Yet we still feel deeply enriched, as if some other part of us has made the connections and fully understands and revels in it all. (An aside: An ink blot Tarot deck? Hmmm…)

My two favorite poems – among the many that invited me to the dance – are “Two Nightstands Attacking a Cello” and “Surreal Fortune.” And they just happen to be the first and last poems. Surreal bookends for a book well worth adding to and keeping on our bookshelves.

* * * *

‘til next time, keep dreaming,

ALL DAILY DREAMKU, TANKA, MONOKU & PIX POSTED IN JULY 2011 by Roswilla

2011-08-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I made it through my photography exhibit on July 24th. Though it was truly touch and go up until days before as to whether I'd actually go through with it. However, the two and a half months of preparation did pay off. In all ways. Beyond having the opportunity to share so many of my pix, I loved the conversations with fellow residents of the retirement community I live in. And I sold enough prints to not only fully cover my (considerable) expenses, but to pay a couple pressing bills. Ultimately, though, it was the sharing that meant and still means most to me.

This dreamku series from July 11th pretty much expresses most of July for me, a rather odd time but somehow OK:

LONG STRANGE TRIP

the aliens’ eyes
shine a gelid pale gold
their limbs, pseudopods

why did my family
trick me onto this spaceship
with cavernous halls
and why this email from Mother
that there’s nothing wrong at all

Though I hasten to say I tend to identify more with those aliens than with fellow humans. :-D

ALL DAILY DREAMKU, DREAM TANKA, AND PHOTOS BY ROSWILA POSTED IN JULY 2011

[PLEASE NOTE that in most browsers you can click on the image for a larger version.]

July 1, 2011

ON LEAVING

has she graduated?
will she leave this college town
with all the other grads?

I go to ask her
in her room by the water
her answers to both “no”
but I stay anxious – there’s still
that old distance between us

she leaves me in her
room for a ride in her small
brightly painted boat
I fuss with my hair and make-up
for my long walk home

I give up on my hair
and squash a green straw fedora
over my now blue locks
she comes back in looking puzzled
that I’m still in her space

my explanation
as obvious as it is awkward
I’m not ready yet

[a dreamku, three tanka, and a dreamku on a dream of 6-30-11. Image "The Fog Lifts" by Roswila]

July 2, 2011

JUST WHAT I HAVE

waking up I can’t see
even as my eyes adjust
stumbling through the dark
toward my usual snack
I hear breathing to my left

hunger and fear
mix in my stomach as I
flinch away quickly
I’m handed two pizza slices
but can’t see from whom

a fleeting light touch
from my deceased stepmother
welcome visit

my breath held along
with the small pizza slices
silence and I’m alone
with enough sight now to see
that I need just what I have

[re-posting; three dream tanka and one dreamku on a dream of 8-12-09. No dream recall, so I looked through old dreamku to find a relevant one. Image by Roswila]

July 3, 2011

EIGHT MILLION STORIES
IN THE NAKED ELEVATOR

his delight’s infectious
(it’s taken only one year
to learn the language!)

her intense worry’s
clear to all who get on and off
(will her lie be outed?)

someone toes a white
sheet of paper on the floor
(there, now those sharp blades
are covered again – out of sight
out of everyone’s mind) ....

[two dreamku and a tanka on a dream of 7-2-11. The title is taken from the closing line to a very old, sort of “film noirish” T.V. crime show, The Naked City. (If I recall correctly: “There are eight million stories in the naked city, this has been one of them.”) Image by Roswila -- a view I see a lot as I wait by the ground floor elevator door]

July 4, 2011

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

THE FUCHSIA CROW

the enormous crow
perches on a small table
is it a real one:

sleek and long beaked
with a solid fuchsia body,
multi-colored feathers
drape in brilliant abstract shapes
over its head and wing tops

on second look, yes, it’s a living bird my delight

[a dreamku, tanka, and monoku on a dream of 7-3-11. Image “Surprise!” by Roswila]

July 5, 2011

thin magic pillow
earlier it gave us food
we slip batteries
under it for re-charging
and voila! they are

[tanka on a dream of 7-4-11. Image by Roswila; the photo is one of my earliest, from about two years ago when I was just getting hooked on taking pix]

July 6, 2011

HONK! HONK! AND TWO HARD BOILED EGGS

many hard boiled eggs
try out for the new chorus
none are on-pitch

I pitch in for one
cracked egg who’s clearly absent
I’m accepted though
I’d not actually planned to join
with these singing egg heads

they’re all very nice
especially two whom I’ll drive
to a late brunch
they release their foot brakes
not knowing the chance they’re taking

we chatter happily -- I don't know how to drive

[a dreamku, two tanka, and a monoku on a dream of 7-5-11. The title is a line that was used in my family to indicate endless silliness. It’s actually a misquote (though I have no idea if my father knew that) of a Marx Brothers exchange in one of their movies. Image "After the Senior Prom" by Roswila; and I did find this scene the day after a recent "Senior Prom" dance in the retirement community I live in]

July 7, 2011

THE CATCH

OK, here’s the catch:
blue and white crochet patterns
only for infants

[dreamku on a dream fragment of 7-6-11. Image by Roswila]

July 8, 2011

IN SEARCH OF THE AMAZON

where’s my wonderful
stone-finish Amazon figurine
misplaced gift

I get dressed up
to hunt for this classic nude
named “Red Amazon”
I drape a purple paisley scarf
casually around my neck

there she is, Her face
to the wall on a small shelf
Her supporting column
with its decorative vines allows
a glimpse of Her strong back

my young co-worker
though polite could not care less
about my discovery
still I try to encourage her
to go and take a quick look

ah well sometimes even joy can’t be shared

[a dreamku, three tanka, and a monoku on a dream of 7-8-11. Image by Roswila]

July 9, 2011

UNDERFOOT

dreams of steadily
walking, blank square by blank square
what’s right underfoot
gets written down for a second
then it, too, vanishes

[a tanka on a recurrent image throughout the dreams of 7-8-11. Image "Walking on Air" by Roswila]

July 10, 2011

large long-legged spider
why do you keep crawling
onto each blank page,
your black reach itself cursive
what are you trying to say?

I shoo you gently – it’s said that spiders bring luck

[a tanka and a monoku on a dream of 7-10-11. Image “Will You Walk Into My Parlor...?” by Roswila; title is a quote from that famous poem about a spider tempting a fly into its web]

July 11, 2011

CLOSER

a potted plant I wish to
photograph sits too far away
it’s nicely back lit
sunlight frosting its leaves
in patterns I itch to capture

a young fair-haired man,
still grieving his lover’s death,
offers to help me
my own loss still quite fresh
I’m grateful for his thoughtfulness

the sun reflects off
his cap’s colorful lettering
he moves the plant closer

[two tanka and a dreamku on a dream of 7-10-11. Image by Roswila]

July 12, 2011

LONG STRANGE TRIP

the aliens’ eyes
shine a gelid pale gold
their limbs, pseudopods

why did my family
trick me onto this spaceship
with cavernous halls
and why this email from Mother
that there’s nothing wrong at all

[a dreamku and a tanka on a dream of 7-11-11. I dunnoh! I'm just the dreamer. LOL. A line from a song -- “Lately it occurs to me: What a long, strange trip it’s been” came up on recalling this little dream. (The song is “Truckin’” by the Grateful Dead.) So that’s embedded in the title and may actually be a big part of the point of the dream. Image by Roswila; color manipulated from green/blue]

July 13, 2011

WHAT IS THE SOUND OF OSTRICHES FLYING?

the sky fills with bombs –
flocks of flying ostriches
collateral damage

their large fleshy forms
crash to the ground in pain
now they are camels

huge suffering beasts
of burden who die slowly
where lies mercy’s bounds?

their misery will end we start shooting

[three dreamku and a monoku on a dream of 7-12-11. Image “Five of Wands” from the Rider/Waite/Smith Tarot deck]

July 14, 2011

AFTER THE FALL

the man and woman
start falling from a great height
empty city buildings

wound up together
in a tight ball they plummet
through the twilight
it takes barely long enough for
him to trust they won’t be hurt

he knows the small pillow
attached to their underside
will cushion the blow
and it does just that, as –
feather light – they hit concrete

a strange woman says
there’s something else amiss
needing attention
but all three know surviving
this fall is enough for now

[a dreamku and three tanka on a dream of 7-13-11. Image by Roswila; taken from the second floor balcony of the retirement community where I live; it's a view I have many pix of, in many different lights and from various angles and so on; it's a challenge to get it all lined up visually and not have the tall "chimney" take over the pic -- as I think it does here a bit; my favorite shot is one in which the full moon is in the early night sky between that chimney and the building on the right]

July 15, 2011

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

same square or brand new?
I keep working on them, one
after another
each small, and black and white
and oddly compelling

I don’t know what I’m doing .... so, what else is new?

[a tanka and a monoku on a dream of 7-15-11. Image by Roswila – The Hanged Man from my Taiga Tarot deck in progress]

July 16, 2011

THE COLLUSION

the small old lady
agrees to throw the fight
with the young strong man
she takes a few tumbles
as they box in the ring

he gives her the sign
to stay down for the count
but she bounces up
quickly again and again –
she’s changed her still spritely mind

[two tanka on a dream of 7-15-11. Image “The Tower” in Roswila’s Taiga Tarot]

July 17, 2011

PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION

prices stick to curled
edges of colorful petals
unfurled like tongues –
shadows and illusions
offer no purchase at all

[a tanka on a dream of 7-16-11. PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION is the name of a symphony by Mussorgorsky, about his experiences viewing paintings at an exhibition. I hesitated using it as the title because it seems rather weighty for a little dream tanka. However, this dream is about all the visualizing and preparing for my photo exhibit this July 24th. So it seems somewhat fitting. On another note (pun intended) there may be a big change in how I’m approaching this daily post. Or rather, a reverting to my approach in the early years. I.e., much more focus on the craft and the poem, than on dream interpretation or exploration. Image by Roswila]

July 18, 2011

STRING THEORY FOR DUMMIES

she’s cute but obese
a buff young man poses as
her body double –
appearance doesn’t just matter
it’s the whole ball of wax

[a tanka on a dream of 7-17-11. Interesting. I’m moving away from dream exploration and find I’m more than ever interested in the titles for the dreamku. (Click on title for info on string theory.) Hm, a sneaky way of exploring? If so, not bad, as it’s not a lengthy journey nor do I get all caught up in all sorts of side trips through my personal sturm und drang. At least so far, and two days isn’t exactly a long ride. :-D. Image by Roswila -- I may have gone too far in manipulating this photo. However it wasn't working in its original form so it's no loss. But I did learn something in the process -- thinking about this dreamku as I edited it may have overly-influenced the process ... i.e. I need to work on a photo just for its own sake. Not to fit a post here, which is like writing a poem wanting to meet someone else's criteria and not from one's own center.]

July 19, 2011

FIRST CLASS

her moue in response
to my singing speaks volumes
my reaction’s quick:
I walk out on them all
(can we spell “over the top,” kids?)

[a tanka on a dream of 7-18-11. Image by Roswila]

July 20, 2011

PASSING THROUGH

... and all the lost ones
have flown – winging their ways
through the echoing dark
their small feet never grazing
the dust, never making a mark

[a tanka on all dreams (none remembered, but I was quite aware there were lots of them) of 7-19-11. Click here for "Passing Through" lyrics. Image by Roswila]

July 21, 2011

we arrive for tea
with the retired old grifters –
time for judgment long past,
we enjoy their heavily
embellished memories

[a tanka on a dream of 7-20-11. Image by Roswila]

July 22, 2011

the night’s allegories
crumbled by the hot weight
of my frayed old quilt:
each seeps through loosened stitches,
a ghost rising and bound for home

[a tanka on another night of forgotten dreams of 7-21-11. Not unusual to have a night of no recall, especially when I’m not resting well. Right now, I’m an anxious bundle over my up-coming photo exhibit on July 24th. Image by Roswila]

July 23, 2011

his behavior bore
grave consequence way back when
but no longer can –
yet I heed tears brought on by this dream
like droplets from breath on a cold mirror

[a tanka on a dream of 7-22-11. You may note the syllable count is over on the last two lines in this tanka (they're usually 7 each). On occasion, I'm allowing myself to push the envelope. Drafting this post I began to see one of the influences in my recent move away from dream analysis, toward more intense focus on the writing of a poem. This is most obvious – beyond the lack of endless comments here – in my increasing use of simile and metaphor. This use of verbal imagery, I think, echos all the visual imagery I’ve inundated my poor brain with as I’ve been preparing for my photo exhibit tomorrow. Image by Roswila – This is a slightly revised version of a previously posted photo. What I did to it is called “sharpening” which seems highly appropriate given all those spines. :-D I also now note it’s the second day in a row I’ve chosen a “prickly” photo to post. Hm....]

NO POST ON JULY 24, 2011

July 25, 2011

No post yesterday, as it was the day of my photo exhibit. All went even better than I could have hoped. Now I have to get busy printing the photos people ordered. I had some for sale on the spot, too, and those sold better than I'd expected. But far more important to me than the sales were all the conversations about art. And even poetry! When planning the exhibit I'd wanted to include some of my poetry, too. So I snuck it in by printing a small booklet of daily posts from this blog. :-) The response that booklet got was the single biggest surprise of the day. Someone actually paid to have all 18 pages printed on photo paper and another woman wants to see it again before choosing which of the pages she may want. I'd not anticipated anyone wanting to purchase pix with poems "contaminating" them LOL! Especially my rather "dense" dream poems. It was delightful to have all the very positive feedback. There were comments about my pix making ordinary things looks extraordinary. I kept saying that I don't think anything is really ordinary. It's all in how we look at it both literally and metaphorically speaking, and that this is what photography keeps teaching me, over and over. (That was my pesky teacher self surfacing. :-D) Last but certainly not least, it was rather lovely to spend time in a constantly shifting little bevy of friends. Image by Roswila; that's my cane on the right, propping up that gorgeous bloom which had flopped over, top heavy for its stem. The label hanging from the bamboo cane is like a dog tag, should I lose or forget it somewhere. It's a very important "friend," especially as it's also a flute. I'll need it more than ever today as I'm not only exhausted but very achy and sore. There was a lot of walking, getting up and down from my seat, stretching, reaching, and lifting and hauling of heavy things yesterday.

July 26, 2011

OF MOTES AND BEAMS

he wants to argue
the fine line between legal
and willful blindness –
when I won’t comply
he walks out in huff

I return to looking
at black and white card-sized photos
I realize viewing
newest to oldest won’t work
and start at the beginning

[two tanka on a dream of 7-25-11. Image by Roswila]

July 27, 2011

summer morning
disappointment:
he was only a dream

[an old dreamku posted on 8-23-06. This may be a very old dream/ku, but I had the same experience this morning. I'll blame it on the fact that July through September is my high energy time of year; energy of all kinds. :-) Image "Disappointment" by Roswila]

July 28, 2011

IN OUR SHOES

together again
after all this time, we dance
across the ice rink –
none of us three women wears
ice skates, our work shoes just fine

[tanka on a dream of 7-27-11. This dream/ku put me immediately in mind of the Three of Cups in the Tarot. This version below is from The Aquatic Tarot:

Image at the top of this post is by Roswila]

July 29, 2011

THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM?

a triplicity
shows in a second night’s dream:
she’s preparing to move
into new rooms – three empty
containers await filling

nearly person-height
they’re more like graceful vases
narrow waisted
one wonders how much each can
actually accommodate

[two tanka on a dream of 7-28-11. That second line in the first tanka references the dream/ku posted here yesterday in which there were three women. I also associate this dream’s imagery to the Three of Cups (3C) in the Tarot, as I did yesterday’s. So here’s yet another deck’s version of the 3C, from the Penguin Parade Tarot by Robyn Tisch Hollister as it appears on Adam's Tarot Weblog:

Image at top of this post “The Chalice,” by Roswila]

July 30, 2011

AT SEA

one could be tempted
to think a flotilla sank
with all aboard
memories keep bobbling up
sunlit or moon-veiled flotsam

[a tanka on a dream of 7-29-11. Image "Sea Rose" by Roswila, the accidental coloring in the photo was intensified by computer]

July 31, 2011

WHAT GOES ‘ROUND...

the pastel colors
on the fuzzy round pages
need some adjusting
I clarify all, aware
it all began with Mama

[a tanka on a dream of 7-30-11. My mother's (who died when I was 10) favorite color was yellow, and so therefore today’s Roswila photo in grateful memory of Mary Jane. It’s titled “I Remember Crinolens!” which were all the rage back in the ‘50's. :-D]

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‘til next time, keep dreaming,